Bangladeshi Biharis?

With due apology I like to differ with him and strongly protest his remarks -- which never ever his predecessors did during the last over thirty years. Perhaps he is not the appropriate authority either to allow or disallow someone or many the right to Pakistan nationality. He is, if I remember correctly, new over here and may not be fully aware of the historical political, social, psychological and emotional considerations which justify Pakistan nationality for the stranded Pakistanis, the so-called Biharis in Bangladesh.

Politically they have the right to go to Pakistan because on the basis of partition of the sub-continent into India and Pakistan in 1947, they migrated to both the wings of Pakistan -- West and East. For historical, political and religious reasons they sided with the Pakistani forces in 1971. And as true Pakistanis, after the fall of Dhaka, they opted for Pakistan risking their lives and properties like the Bengalis who were then in Pakistan opted for Bangladesh. Rightly all the Bengalis who opted for Bangladesh were repatriated without question. And according to him (the High Commissioner) 'a good number' of them (the stranded Pakistanis) were repatriated to Pakistan in 1973/74 fulfilling the terms of agreement. He however did not explain what he meant by 'a good number.'

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In fact, the number repatriated officially was a little over hundred thousand from among the then number of around 4-5 hundred thousand. Thus it would seem that only a small number were repatriated leaving the bulk, say around 2.5 to 3 hundred thousand, here to rot in the camps for decades. As to his observation that Pakistan had fulfilled its obligation by taking in the abovementioned number of people, humbly I would say that it's not true. It is on record that, the then PM Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had said some thing like this -- "And if some of them (stranded Pakistanis) come (to Pakistan) say two, three, or four hundred thousand, then that would be better."

This version was published in the prestigious Hindustan Standard sometime in early part of 1972 or 1973, I am sorry to have forgone the exact date. But it was a mischief on the part of the then PM that he did not fulfil his own commitment of taking around four lac people and abruptly stopped the process of repatriation in 1974. And since then, in the later period, particularly during Mr Nawaz Sharif's time, a handful, perhaps in hundreds (not in thousands) were repatriated as an eye wash.

Socially and religiously the stranded Biharis have the right to go to Pakistan because they have further been divided by official repatriation of over a hundred thousand mentioned earlier. Now there are extreme hardship cases like separation of brothers and sisters, fathers and sons not to speak of other close relations. And this hardship is the making Pakistan Government since they allowed repatriation of some and left the bulk. Had they not have taken a single soul, that at least would not have made the extreme family division cases. Now since they have created the additional problem, it is their duty twice over that they should soon solve the problem by taking the remaining around 2.5 lac people. Most people will bear with me that Pakistan was created for the purpose of accommodating Muslims of India in particular and those of the other parts in general.

Let that objective of Pakistan be fulfilled. Perhaps that was the reason that during Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Pakistan housed around 3.5 million Afghan Muslims in Pakistan and morally supported Afghans then in ousting the invaders. If they could accommodate those 35 lac then why can't they accommodate the Muslim stranded Pakistanis whose number is nearly 10 times less? There are 100 and one reasons for their repatriation and less than one against. And in view of the above if these Muslims are not repatriated, then the very concept of Pakistan comes to question. Let the hon'ble High Commissioner appreciate the problem and recommend to his government for repatriation of the stranded Pakistanis. This will be a good thing for him and the Muslim Ummah.

Abu Imran is a freelace writer.