How forgotten are the forgotten Pakistanis? |
| Written by Dr. Moonis Ahmar • Region • December 2010 |
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The debate on repatriating or not repatriating around 250,000 stranded Pakistanis languishing in more than 66 camps in Bangladesh has reached its logical conclusion. Now, except for some scattered reports, no one in Pakistan talks about those unforgotten citizens who during the unfortunate events of 1971 became a victim of vicious power struggle by paying a heavy price in the form of displacement and endless plight. Even those who got votes in Urban Sindh in the name of stranded Pakistanis, called as Biharis, seem to have abandoned them and are not actively demanding their repatriation to Pakistan. The bulk of those who had opted for Pakistan in 1972 have either accepted the Bangladeshi nationality or are no more in this world. Such a human tragedy, which has no parallel in South Asia in modern history, is a permanent scar on Pakistan because it preferred to accommodate millions of refugees from Afghanistan who proliferated drugs, weapons and terrorism but refused to accept those who fought for Pakistan and would have been an asset rather than a liability for this country. Recently, in Karachi at a Seminar on repatriating those who are called ‘stranded Pakistanis’ the speakers reminded the MQM of its age-old struggle to alleviate the plight of such people by repatriating them to Pakistan. But, the forgotten citizens of Pakistan have been forgotten by those who secured votes in various elections since 1988 to bring back stranded Pakistanis but failed to deliver despite being a political force and in power. During the first government of Benazir Bhutto, MQM had ended its alliance with the PPP because the latter was blamed of not pursuing a serious approach to bring back those unfortunate people who since 1971 opted for Pakistan but failed to reach their promised land. Since MQM’s becoming part of the Musharraf regime in 2003 and also in 2008 under PPP’s led government, it has not pursued an active policy on the issue of stranded Pakistanis. In a tripartite agreement signed between Bangladesh, India and Pakistan in April 1973, it was agreed on the part of Islamabad to accept stranded Pakistanis divided into three categories. First, those belonging to divided families. Second, government servants and third hardship cases. In December 1971 when East Pakistan became Bangladesh, the Urdu speaking community, which was called as Biharis totaled around one million. When the Bangladeshi government in 1972 offered citizenship to such people, 500,000 accepted the offer but the rest refused. Till 1974, around 200,000 stranded Pakistanis were repatriated to Pakistan but the process stopped abruptly. According to the reports in 1978, the regime of General Zia-ul-Haq issued an ordinance in March 1978 stripping all Pakistanis left in Bangladesh after December 1971 of their nationality, unilaterally, retroactively, arbitrarily and en masse. In 1993 only 400 stranded Pakistanis were brought to Pakistan during Nawaz Sharif’s first government and were settled in the Punjab province as a result of the efforts of the then Chief Minister of Punjab, Ghulam Hyder Wayne. But Nawaz Sharif failed to fulfill his promise of completing the repatriation process when his party returned to power in 1997. The case of stranded Pakistanis got further marginalized when on May 19, 2008, Dhaka High Court allowed voting rights to ‘Biharis’ born in Bangladesh or those whose father or grandfather born in Bangladesh or those who were the permanent residents in 1971. According to the criteria set by the Dhaka High Court, the overwhelming majority of stranded Pakistanis scattered in camps in Bangladesh qualified to take Bangladeshi nationality and a large number of them accepted the offer. But, now there are less than 200,000 people in Bangladesh who still express their loyalty and allegiance to Pakistan and want to return to their opted country. It has been 39 years since East Pakistan became Bangladesh and the third generation of unfortunate people who still called themselves Pakistanis is languishing in camps in Bangladesh. Their inhuman conditions are a sad reminder that no government in Pakistan has been committed and serious in resolving such a humanitarian issue. Political parties have done politics in the name of stranded Pakistanis but when they got power they simply ignored those whose sufferings were used for political purposes. As things stand today in Pakistan, the very hope and dream of some of the stranded Pakistanis (Biharis) to go to their land of promise seem to have shattered. Logically speaking, Pakistan, which is under serious economic crisis, terrorism, violence and corruption, should provide no reason for people who have suffered so much to enter into another phase of bitterness and insecurity. That is the reason, why majority of the stranded Pakistanis decided to shun their allegiance to Pakistan and opt for Bangladeshi nationality because they got frustrated to see deteriorating situation in Pakistan in terms of law and order, economic breakdown and unabated terrorist acts, particularly deadly suicide attacks on mosques. If seen in retrospect, one can figure out four reasons why some powerful actors in Pakistan decided not to allow the complete repatriation of stranded Pakistanis from Bangladesh. These reasons also confirm the mindset of those people who are now at the helm of affairs, whether belonging to political, bureaucratic or military elites. Several reasons were provided by different governments during 1980s and 1990s to justify their failure to complete the repatriation process of stranded Pakistanis. First, lack of funds and resources. But, that argument was neutralized when a fund under the Saudi based Rabita Trust Fund was established in 1988 to cover the costs of repatriation and their resettlement. In fact, the government of Pakistan and the Rabita trust signed an agreement to mobilize resources for arranging the repatriation of remaining 250,000 stranded Pakistanis to Pakistan. Some resources were also mobilized to start the repatriation process but nothing came out of it. For many people, the issue of stranded Pakistanis is a closed chapter and nothing can be done to fulfill their age old dream of going to Pakistan. Unfortunately, in the last two decades or so, the issue of stranded Pakistanis has been marginalized as no major political party or the establishment wants them to be here. In July 2002, when President Musharraf visited Bangladesh and met a delegation of stranded Pakistanis in Dhaka, he assured them of considering their demands. But, nothing was done when he was in power. The solution of internally displaced persons (IDPs) called as Biharis in different parts of Bangladesh is to improve their socio-economic conditions. The government of Pakistan must audit the amount lying in the account of Rabita trust fund and use that amount for constructing better living quarters and providing respectable jobs to those who still have aspirations to go to Pakistan. Other Islamic countries, including Saudi Arabia can come forward and contribute for providing necessary help and assistance to those who still call themselves Pakistanis but are not acceptable to Pakistan! Since majority of the Urdu speaking population called as Biharis has taken Bangladeshi nationality, those left should also rethink their hard line position and opt for Bangladesh so as to close painful and sad chapter in the history of South Asia.  Moonis Ahmar is a Visiting DAAD Fellow at the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy, University of Erfurt, Germany. He is also Professor of International Relations at the University of Karachi and Director, Program on Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution. Comments (0)
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