IN previous articles, I wrote at length about the sacrifices made by Bihari Muslims for Pakistan as well as the suffering and ordeal that they have had to undergo due to their endeavors to keep Pakistan a unified state. The articles shed light on the promises offered to them since the break up of Pakistan, and the vanishing of East Pakistan and the subsequent establishment of Bangladesh. The laws of war protected the surrendered Pakistan army but there was no law to protect civilians, especially Biharis who chose to stay with Pakistan and supported its army. They were subjected to all kinds of atrocities at the hands of militias loyal to the Awami League party, and were forced to lead a miserable life in makeshift camps and huts. Even the Simla Agreement that ensured the return of the surrendered Pakistani troops to their country did not contain any specific provisions to facilitate the return of Biharis to Pakistan. Under agreements reached later, nearly 200,000 Biharis were repatriated to Pakistan while the rest of them continue to live in Bangladesh in extremely pathetic conditions. There were several proposals made and efforts exerted over the years to solve the problem of Biharis. Several prominent figures and organizations within and outside Pakistan strove to ensure the return of more than 250,000 stranded Pakistanis. The most important among them was the setting up of 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. Benazir Bhutto, who came to power after the death of Gen. Zia ul-Haq, showed no interest in the repatriation of stranded Pakistanis from Bangladesh. However, there were renewed hopes about reactivating the MWL endowment for Biharis during the tenure of Nawaz Sharif as prime minister. He demonstrated interest in the topic and took charge as president of the endowment replacing Gen. Zia ul-Haq. The Muslim World League gave $50 million toward executing the project for the repatriation and settlement of the stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh while Pakistan donated land where nearly 1,000 houses were constructed. But implementation of the project came to a halt after Sharif was ousted in a military coup orchestrated by the army chief Gen. Pervez Musharraf. It was Musharraf who shelved the project and hence, the stranded Pakistanis have had to continue to suffer from hunger, illiteracy and disease in miserable living conditions. All the efforts made by prominent figures to reactivate the MWL fund from the time of the military coup until the present have been unsuccessful. The endowment's account in the United States was frozen and all efforts to reactivate it ended in failure. The MWL hired a reputable accounting office in the United States to deal with the matter, and that office endorsed the legal validity of the project. The endowment was set up exclusively to address a serious humanitarian problem and it had nothing to do with any political or terrorist activities. However, the account continued to remain frozen mainly because the position of General Musharraf was negative. Perhaps this is because he disliked the success of any project initiated by his predecessor Nawaz Sharif. Musharraf quit his position as the president of the Endowment Council and even demoted the status of the council's presidency to the level of a ministerial undersecretary. He also ruled out the presence of foreign elements in the council under a declaration issued by the Pakistan government secretariat. It was strange that the undersecretary at the ministry made the announcement of alterations in the makeup of the council under which the country's president would no longer serve as president of the council, and ministers as well as foreign dignitaries would not serve as its members. However, even after the deadlock over the MWL endowment project, there are still hopes that the efforts of prominent personalities and organizations will be fruitful. Most notable among these figures are President of the Arab Gulf Program for Development (AGFUND) Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz, former MWL secretary general Abdullah Omar Naseef, Francis Lamond, president of the Paris-based Islam and the West organization, Dr. Abdullah Al-Turki, secretary general of the MWL, and Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Ali, president of the Islamic Development Bank, in addition to the chairman and members of the Stranded Pakistanis General Repatriation Committee. These individuals have made several efforts in the past and are still working tirelessly with the hope that their efforts in reactivating the MWL endowment will be successful one day. They are optimistic that intensive contacts with the governments of Pakistan and Bangladesh to make serious efforts to solve the problem of the stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh and end the suffering of more than a quarter of a million of them will lead to reactivating the endowment. They are also hopeful that the government of Bangladesh will join as a member of the endowment so as to facilitate the rehabilitation of a large number of Biharis who were born and raised in Bangladesh. Other proposals include the one put forward by the Stranded Pakistanis General Repatriation Committee for extending loans by the IDB and banks within and outside Pakistan to stranded Pakistanis so that they can construct houses in order to facilitate their repatriation. It has also been proposed that job opportunities in the GCC states be made available for qualified Biharis so that they can support themselves and solve their problems. Finally, I urge all those who are able, especially those mentioned earlier, particularly Prince Talal Bin Abdulaziz who is a well-known philanthropist, to use their international stature and reputation in society in order to find practical solutions to the problems of these unfortunate people.
— Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi is a former Saudi diplomat who specializes in Southeast Asian affairs. He can be reached at [email protected]
