‘No plans to repatriate Pakistanis’

Protesters in Bahrain blame Pakistanis in their security forces for ‘excessive violence’.

KARACHI:

There are no plans to repatriate Pakistanis from Bahrain even though one Pakistani was killed and four others were injured by protesters in Manama on Sunday.

Foreign Office spokesperson Tehmina Janjua told The Express Tribune, “Pakistanis living in Bahrain have permanent jobs, and so would not want to be dislocated unless the situation calls for it. The protests are limited to a small area in Manama. We have not had any specific requests from people wanting to come back, but our embassy is in touch with the Pakistani community there. We have requested the government of Bahrain to provide them security.”

According to the Gulf Daily News newspaper, Pakistanis stag­ed a protest outside the em­bassy in Manama on Mon­day to demand protection. It quoted a Pakistani, Zafar Iqbal, as saying, “We have come here to earn a decent liv­ing, not to be attacked or kill­ed by Bahrainis.” Another person outside the embassy told the newspaper, “We left our families back in Pakistan and came here to earn a good living. Their anger is towards the government for not doing enough."

Protestors in Bahrain have expressed their anger at Pakistanis serving in the anti-riot police for their alleged ‘excessive use of violence’. Videos of protests in Manama, which cannot be independently verified, show protestors calling out ‘paagal’ (madman) to an officer. At another protest last week, there were chants of, ‘The police are Pakistani’. A Pakistani policeman was murdered in Bahrain in 2008.

Janjua pointed out that “these Pakistanis are not being sent by the government of Pakistan. They are employed in Bahrain in their individual capacity.”

The Fauji Foundation’s Over­­­seas Employment Ser­vices recently advertised for Pakistanis to serve in the Bahrain National Guard. “The Fauji Foundation does not have anything to do with the government, it is an organisation that works for the welfare of ex-servicemen,” Janjua said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16^th, 2011.