Munaza Kazmi
History offers quite fascinating pages to unfold. I’m of an opinion that, one cannot move forward without knowing his origins. Today I am writing this article to remind us of our forgotten past, one of the darkest ever, unknown & silent topic of forgotten history, the vulnerable, the unjust, the forgotten indeed….“The Forgotten Pakistanis in Bangladesh”.
Am sure my reader must have knowledge of East Pakistan, now Bangladesh reasoning our own failure. Fall of Dakha is a never-ending debate and we should take responsibility of it, since it is something unjust from our side, if not now then maybe never in the future.
When there is war, there is death on both sides, abduction of rights and unjust, there is the loss of humanity, economy, infrastructure and everything. In-short, there’s victory for no one but the defeat and loss for everyone.
Imagine what if the fate prolonged the miseries and make one suffer for a lifetime and for no wrong but for being loyal. Loyal to one’s country.
Such is the condition of 250,000 Urdu-speaking Pakistanis who took refuge in the camps and other surrounding areas of Bangladesh, on charge of siding with their country back in 1971. They are leading forcefully a vulnerable and unimaginable life of half-naked, starving bellies, unsheltered, without identity, a miserable life, a life of Refugee.
The antidote of Beharis is one of the miserable and bad fortune of all the times. Today world knows them as mere Refugees, who were once leading a prosperous and dignified life in their land, they were educated and cultured people, having all the knowledge, wealth and respect.
These Beharis came to this delta region of Bay of Bengal or better to say became Refugees due to lack of unity within states. As, back in the year 1971, again a war broke down between India and Pakistan, however with Indian conspiracy the land of East Pakistan had to be separated from West Pakistan and it laid the foundation of what today called Bangladesh.
These unfortunate Beharis decided to side with Pakistani Government against the Bangladesh Forces backed by Indian politician & troops, however in the end left unsheltered.
Till date they are living unsheltered in small cells, with no food, no education or a proper livelihood, and are forced to live on scraps, women selling their bodies for less than half a dollar for the sake of buying a piece of bread, children dying before reaching the age of five due to malnutrition and filth, permanent starving and vulnerability had housed in these camps, a fall of humanity on which Pakistan is still blind eyed.
I condemn people forcing government for some far away Arabic country or housing the Un-thankful Afghan and Kashmiri Refugees but have forgotten the ones who really deserve our hand, our Bangladeshi Pakistanis.
Munaza Kazmi holds MPhil in Management Sciences (Bahria University Islamabad, 2020). She’s an educationist, researcher, published author, & co-author of scientific contributions in national & international publications. Her main areas of research include quality management, tourism & hospitality.
