Dicing with death and uncertainty

Families appeal for safe evacuation of their loved-ones stranded in Libya

ISLAMABAD: Imagine what the families of two Pakistani labourers in Libya, Zakir Husain and Abdul Qadeer, are going through. On one side is the clear and ever present danger of Indian mortar shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in Azad Kashmir where both men’s families are living. Their anguish is compounded by the uncertainty of the fate of Zakir Husain and Abdul Qadeer. It has been almost five years since their families saw either of them in the flesh, but they have heard them sobbing over the phone, beseeching for help, speak of their fears of either being killed or being starved to death.



Husain and Qadeer have been stranded in Libya for the past few years where security conditions are uncertain and harsh, especially for migrants. Both of them had gone to Libya to find work as labourers, but fate had something else in store for them.

“It has been a month since my son last called and every day I feel like my soul is being wrenched,” said Fidya Bibi, Abdul Qadeer’s mother, told The Express Tribune.

She is a widow who lives with her daughter-in-law and son near the Nakyal Sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in Azad Kashmir.

“We live under constant threat … We hear Indian forces firing and shelling near our home. I fear I may not be alive if and when my son returns,” she said.



Qadeer’s wife Zahida Bibi said: “The last time he called he told us that he had taken refuge in a building along with 25 other Pakistanis and they fear getting killed if they even try to go outside.”

On the other hand, Zakir Husian’s family is facing greater hardship. Hussain is the father of seven children and the son of ailing mother and father. “A few months ago, he told us on phone that he was in a jungle without any food or water,” Hussain’s sister Safina Bibi said.

Both the families have appealed for safely evacuating their stranded family members. Qadeer’s mother recently wrote a letter to the federal ombudsman in which she appealed for help.



In response, senior adviser on law and registrar of the Federal Ombudsman Hafiz Ahsan Khokar sent a letter to the secretary of the ministry of foreign affairs, requesting the officials concerned to instruct the Pakistan mission in Libya to take appropriate action for safely evacuating the stranded Pakistanis.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 3^rd, 2017.