Nation wants Afghan refugees return with honour : Senator Sirajul Haq

Lahore : Ameer, Jamaat e Islami, Pakistan Senator Siraj ul Haq has stressed that a parliamentary committee should be set up to oversee the return of the Afghan refugees to their country and they be returned home with dignity and honor.

Talking to the media after attending a meeting of the SAFRON Ministry in Islamabad on Monday in connection with the Afghan refugees return, he said that the local population had never faced any problem during the stay of the Afghan refugees. However, some steps of the Pakistan government had spoiled the atmosphere.  He said that strong Pakistan – Afghanistan relations would minimize the chances of India’s interference in the region.  He said that the Pak= Afghan policy should be looked at from the angle of this country and not from the viewpoint of the US. Besides, he said, that sincere efforts should be made to restore peace in the neighbouring country.

He said the government had mishandled the 35 year old Afghan woman Sharbat Gula’s case and she was jailed. He said that India was exploiting the issue against this country. He said the issue could have been handled wisely.  He said that the issue of the Afghan students, traders as also the wounded people should also be handled in a spirit of goodwill and accommodation and the government should frame a policy in this regard. He said the nation wanted the Afghan refugees to return home with honour and dignity.

Sirajul Haq strongly condemned Indian forces firing in Bhimber sector at the Loc resulting in the martyrdom of seven troops and stressed upon the government to take necessary steps for national security. He said the government must prove its existence and remarked that this was time to be awake and not to sleep. He said that a government that could not protect the lives of its citizen had no right to stay.

The JI chief slated New Delhi’s war mentality and said that India wanted to plunge the region into the flames of war. He urged the world community to take notice of New Delhi’s designs. However, he warned that a war in the region would not be limited to this region but would engulf the entire world.

The JI chief said that thousands of people were facing hardships daily in securing their computerized national identity cards and passports due to the inefficiency of the NADRA officials and the Interior Ministry. He said that if NADRA did not resolve the issue, the people would be forced to lay siege around the NADRA offices.

He said that facilities should be provided to the non registered Afghan refugees  to enable them get registered so that they could avail the facilities being extended by international bodies at the time of their return.

He said that NADRA had blocked the national identity cards of the local population along with the Afghan refugees due to which the people were facing difficulties.