Hassam Ahmed Siddiqui
We live in a country where might has always found its way to prove itself right and where underprivileged remains unheard, regardless of the fact if he is right or wrong. December has always been a distressing month in the history of Pakistan, a month when enemies of Pakistan targeted us not once, but twice. East Pakistan was separated from us and over 150 people, including 132 children, were brutally martyred in a terrorist incident in APS Peshawar. A famous saying is that “Great nations never forget the sacrifices of their heroes”, but alas we did.
Pakistan has till today not honoured the people, whose only crime remains their belief in Pakistan, despite the fact that they showed loyalty to this land by giving sacrifices with their blood. Thousands of Muslims lost their lives during the struggle for a separate nation for the Muslims of sub-continent. Biharis were amongst the worst sufferers of the Hindu-Muslim riots and almost 30,000 people sacrificed their lives for the creation of a Muslim homeland. Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah highlighted the sacrifices of Biharis in grieving words “I never dreamt that in my lifetime, I shall see Pakistan in being, but the tragedy of Bihar has brought it about”. Around one million people migrated to East Pakistan to live in a Muslim homeland yet their miseries did not come to an end as a continuous resentment of Biharis and Bengalis intensified the political and social atmosphere in East Pakistan. The issue of language, resource capture, jobs and complexity of race further widened the gap between the two communities.
Humanity was witnessed at its low during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War. Biharis were brutally murdered by the Bengalis and in June 1971, Bihari representatives claimed that around 500,000 of their people were killed by Bengalis. An “Operation Searchlight” was launched by Pakistan Army to curb the civil unrest in East Pakistan in which Biharis supported Pakistan’s military by joining armed paramilitary groups. Witnessing Pakistan’s armed forces in control of the situation, Indian forces attacked East Pakistan. The war ended up after Pakistan surrendered on 16th December 1971 but Biharis were killed at will by the Mukti Bahini forces. These people were trained by India and they acted as the non-state actors during the war serving at the will of India.
A good number of Biharis managed to escape to West Pakistan but most of them ended up in relief camps. Sadly, West Pakistan also refused to accept them as citizens of Pakistan yet accepted only 170,000 Bihari refugees in 1974 whose repatriation process has till to date been hindered and delayed. Promises were made by the successive governments of Pakistan over decades, yet in vain. Over four hundred thousand Biharis still live a miserable life in Geneva camp in Bangladesh and they are called as stranded Pakistanis while thousands of Biharis though live in Karachi in Pakistan, yet are denied of their basic human rights. Despite having a complete paperwork, they are denied Pakistani citizenship which subsequently denies them the privilege to any legal and formal rights awarded to the citizens of Pakistan.
Pakistan is currently dealing with the phenomenon of hybrid warfare which has emerged as a major security threat for the state. With continuous security and hybrid warfare challenges, how can a country ignore an entire segment of society that is extremely vulnerable to the enemies of Pakistan in terms of ideology and political mindset. Not a person, but an entire community has given lives in the name of Pakistan whenever and wherever was needed from the time of independence till today and sadly we cannot even own them as one of our own. What does someone has to do to prove his or her loyalty to this nation. They have sacrificed their lives, living without authorization since decades and still remain loyal to the homeland.It is time for Pakistan to accept them as one of our own, grace them with the identity of being Pakistani, include them in your system and give them jobs. It is time to acknowledge the sacrifices rendered by their ancestors in the name of Pakistan.
—The writer is freelance columnist, based in Islamabad.
