The Pakistanis we forgot

For a great majority of people in this world, their nationality is a source of comfort, security and identity. But what shall become of an individual who is stripped off his identity without his consent or willingness?

The answer to that question seems to lie in the slums of Bangladesh, where you will find a body of people still claiming to be Pakistanis despite being disowned by the government of Pakistan. These individuals, commonly referred to as Biharis, had migrated to the eastern wing of Pakistan in 1947 after innumerable losses and sufferings so that they could find salvation in a land that was created “for the Muslims of South Asia”. Little did they know that in about 20 odd years, they would have to revisit partition.

During the 1971 riots in present day Bangladesh, the Bengalis perpetrated acts of aggression against the Biharis as they were considered supporters of the Pakistan army and its collaborators. While some Biharis did join the East Pakistan Civil Armed Forces (EPCAF) and other anti-insurgent units such as the Razakars and the Al-Shams, they did so in small numbers.

After the Pakistani forces surrendered to India in the 1971 war resulting in the independence of Bangladesh, Biharis feared for what the future had in store for them. They had lost their homes and land during the war and in its immediate aftermath. It was only after a presidential order in mid-1972 that almost a million Biharis received shelter in rundown dilapidated camps which exist to this day.

The Biharis in addition to being put in these camps, were also offered citizenship by Mujib-ur-Rehman in 1972. However, around half a million refused the offer, demanding that they be repatriated to Pakistan as Pakistani citizens. But for such a thing to happen, the state of Pakistan would have to first own them. Unfortunately, that has so far not happened. In fact, although the Delhi Accord signed between India and Pakistan in 1973 explicitly provided for the repatriation of a substantial amount of Biharis back to Pakistan, other than a small chunk of stranded Pakistanis, the majority was left behind and forgotten, mainly due to a lack of will on the part of the government, and because their resettlement was seen as potentially explosive in a country that would every now and then see conflict and quarrelling driven by ethnicity.

Eventually, as late as 2008, it was Bangladesh which finally gave the Bihari generations raised and permanently residing in Bangladesh citizenship and voting rights in their country subject to the laws of the
land. Although the newer generation was elated by this development, the old guard still seemed to harbour
sentiments of returning to
Pakistan.

If nothing else, the whole ordeal should send shivers down the spines of all Pakistanis. The responsibilities of the Pakistan government include supporting, providing for, and securing the lives of its denizens. However, the ease with which Islamabad continues to turn a blind eye to its very own citizens in Bangladesh is alarming. For them, they never left Pakistan, rather Pakistan left them. And it is in light of this that one is forced to contemplate that if it could happen to these stranded Pakistanis, why does it surprise us when news surfaces of our leaders selling off Pakistanis to foreign governments in the garb of fighting a war on terror?

As the case of the stranded Pakistanis has clearly demonstrated, the Pakistani nationality comes with a price tag, and that is ‘dispensability.’

Published in the Express Tribune, June 7^th, 2010.