IN my previous two articles, I dealt with the sacrifices made by Bihari Muslims for Pakistan since the emergence of the two-nation theory under which the subcontinent was divided between India and Pakistan. The articles also shed light on the expertise and skills of Biharis which rescued East Pakistan's economy from collapse. Biharis suffered a lot and fought together with the Pakistan army in their failed bid to ensure the survival of Pakistan as a unified state. However, after the war ended and the Pakistan army surrendered to the Indian army, Biharis were left unprotected and were vulnerable to murder, looting and rape by militias associated with the Awami League. Although the laws of war gave protection to the surrendered army, there was no law to protect Biharis or defend them. The Simla Agreement, concluded by India and Pakistan in the year following the 1971 war, laid down the principles that should govern their future relations. It also formulated steps to be taken for further normalization of mutual relations. Under this agreement, signed by the Pakistan Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto with his Indian counterpart Indira Gandhi, the surrendered Pakistan troops were able to return to their country. However, the agreement did not include any specific provisions either to ensure the protection of Biharis and safeguard their basic rights if they preferred to stay in Bangladesh or to facilitate their return to Pakistan, a country for which they had made big sacrifices. Under agreements reached by the government of Bhutto, nearly 200,000 Biharis repatriated to Pakistan. There were also reports that some of them chose to attempt to integrate with the Bengali community rather than return to Pakistan. But all the facts indicate that most of them were unable to integrate with the Bengali community. Only a few of them managed to do so by means of intermarriage with Bengali men and women and by acquiring proficiency in the Bengali language, while the rest of them were destined to live in overcrowded tents and huts in miserable conditions, in anticipation of their return to their country, Pakistan. There were several proposals made to solve the problem of Biharis, of which the most notable was for setting up an endowment under the aegis of the Makkah-based Muslim World League (MWL). An agreement to establish the endowment was signed by Pakistan President Gen. Zia ul-Haq and Dr. Abdullah Omar Naseef, secretary general of the MWL. The founding committee members of the endowment included several prominent Saudi and Pakistani figures, including President of the Arab Gulf Program for Development (AGFUND) Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz, who was also second president of the endowment, and Amin Al-Attas, assistant secretary general of the MWL. High hopes were pinned on the endowment especially because of the enthusiasm shown by Gen. Zia ul-Haq, who declared that he would ensure the return of the stranded Pakistanis to their country even if it had to be on his own back. But unfortunately, destiny did not allow him to fulfill this promise. However, some Biharis who were later repatriated to Pakistan settled in Punjab province where Gen. Zia had built houses for them on land donated by the provincial government, headed by Nawaz Sharif. The Muslim World League gave $50 million toward executing the project for the repatriation and settlement of the stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh. The organization also offered to extend more donations and gifts so as to raise the amount required to solve the problems of around a quarter of a million Biharis who were living in appalling conditions in overcrowded tents and huts without access to even the basic requirements of life such as food, medicine and clothing. Today Biharis are still languishing in these camps where they have been since the breakup of United Pakistan and the creation of the independent state of Bangladesh 40 years ago. After the death of Gen. Zia ul-Haq, Pakistan Peoples Party leader Benazir Bhutto assumed power as prime minister of Pakistan. She showed no interest in the subject of the repatriation of stranded Pakistanis from Bangladesh. Perhaps this was because of her animosity for her predecessor Gen. Zia ul-Haq for hanging her father after holding a summary trial or she might have disliked her rival and successor Nawaz Sharif who was interested in resolving the issue of the stranded Pakistanis. In the name of the Punjab provincial government, Sharif, in his capacity as chief minister, donated land to build a city to accommodate all the Pakistanis stranded in Bangladesh. However, it was reported that Benazir Bhutto, after a visit to Bangladesh, announced that Biharis would continue to remain in Bangladesh forever. There were renewed hopes of reactivating the MWL endowment for Biharis during the second tenure of Nawaz Sharif as prime minister of Pakistan. He demonstrated interest in the topic and took charge as president of the endowment replacing Gen. Zia ul-Haq. The endowment then built a large number of houses in Punjab province and handed over some of them to more than 60 repatriated Bihari families while the majority of the dwellings remained vacant due to the political turmoil in the country. In his second term of office, Nawaz Sharif did not have enough time to resume the repatriation and settlement process. He was ousted in a military coup orchestrated by the army chief Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who renewed the era of military coups that have plagued Pakistan throughout its history. (Next week's article will focus on the resolution of the deadlock over the MWL endowment and efforts and suggestions made, especially by the Stranded Pakistanis General Repatriation Committee, to keep the topic alive and draw global attention to the plight of Biharis.)
— Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi is a former Saudi diplomat who specializes in Southeast Asian affairs. He can be reached at [email protected]
