REPATRIATE ISLAMABAD RESOLVES STRANDED PAKISTANIS
Jeddah, 11 Dhulqo’dah 1436/26 August 2015 (MINA) – The Pakistan Repatriation Council (PRC) called on Islamabad to resolve the issue of stranded Pakistanis who have been languishing in squalid camps in Bangladesh for more than four decades.
At a function here to mark the anniversary of Pakistan’s Independence Day, PRC passed resolutions seeking support from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Muslim World League (MWL) to solve the issue.
The participants at the function urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to set up a commission to expedite the repatriation of nearly quarter million stranded Pakistanis, Arab News quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.
On the India-Pakistan talks, the PRC demanded inclusion of Kashmiri leaders in the talks. The resolution also condemned terror groups for bombing mosques in the Kingdom.
Former Saudi diplomat, Ali Al-Ghamdi, who presided over the event, said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia could help in solving problems faced by the Muslim Ummah.
Several issues including repression of Rohingya Muslims, bloodshed in Syria and Yemen crisis posed new challenges, while issues like Palestine, Kashmir and stranded Pakistanis remain unsolved, he said.
Al-Ghamdi asked the Pakistani lawyers to file another petition in the Supreme Court to secure the rights of the Pakistani citizens in Bangladesh after a previous petition was dismissed by the court.
Dr. Irfan Hashmi, president of Majlis-e-Iqbal, said though Pakistan is a sovereign state, due to poor leadership, the very principles of democracy have weakened.
In his opening remark, Hamid Islam Khan, the deputy convener of PRC, said Pakistan will not be complete without the return of patriotic Pakistanis from Bangladesh.
Paying tributes to his nation on the occasion of Independence Day, PRC Convener Syed Ehsanul Haque said the purpose of Pakistan’s creation could be achieved only by adhering to Qur’an and Sunnah and the message of Quaid-e-Azam “faith, unity and discipline.”
He backed Islamabad on the issue of including Kashmiri leaders in any future dialogue with India and urged Sharif to fulfill his promise to restart repatriation and rehabilitation of stranded Pakistanis from Bangladesh.
Abu Farhan Siddiqui, chief organizer, Muslim Welfare Development Organization-Jeddah (MWDO), highlighted its activities for stranded Pakistanis living in Bangladeshi camps especially in the field of education.
Other prominent speakers who spoke at the event included Maqboolur Rahman Abbasi of Pakistan Journalists Forum, Pakistan People’s Community leader Shamsuddin Altaf, community leaders, such as Azeez Ahmed, Mohammad Amanatullah, Sheikh Mohammad Luqman and Mohammad Akram Agha.
The program began with the recitation of the Holy Qur’an by Mohammad Zakir Hussain, naat by Syed Mohsin Alavi. Poets Mohsin Alavi and Zamurrad Khan Saifi presented their poems on the achievement of Pakistan.
Sher Afzal presented national song at the event. (T/Imt/R03)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
