This refers to an information published in the Opinion pages of The Express Tribune on 19th December, reproduced as follows: “1 million Syrian refugees are expected to return to the country in the first six months of 2025, says the UN refugee agency, UNHCR”.
This is indeed a very positive development for Syria. The refugees coming back from a wide string of countries, including Germany (where some 900,000 to a million refugees took up residence during the tenure of Chancellor Angela Merkel), should definitely add colour, plurality, vision and the requisite skills to enable the war-torn country to cement its new ‘Republic status’ in the post-Baath era. The returning refugees plus the locals are naturally expected to co-operate as far as possible in chalking up and implementing a national strategy to Syria’s redevelopment as a modern, secular, Arab State, at peace with everyone, with a forward looking trajectory.
The OIC, Arab League, European Union, GCC and the UN must step up to offer their full moral, diplomatic and institutional support to the Syrian brethren in their hour of re-development.
Abbas R Siddiqi
Lahore
