The Pakistan Repatriation Council (PRC) organized a symposium in Jeddah recently to celebrate the 88th National Day of Saudi Arabia. Several leaders and a large number of members of the Pakistani community in Jeddah attended the function, which began with the recitation of a few verses from the Holy Qur’an and their interpretation by Engineer Muhammad Asif.
This was followed by a session in which several prominent figures of the community spoke. Amir Mohammed Khan, president of the Pakistani Journalists Forum, was the guest of honor on the occasion. Thanking the organizers of the symposium, he said: “We feel that we have the duty to celebrate the National Day of Saudi Arabia, thanks to the Kingdom’s positions supporting and providing assistance to Pakistan as well as to the Pakistanis working in the Kingdom. He praised the role played by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman in serving the Two Holy Mosques and the holy sites.
Khan also called on Imran Khan, the new prime minister of Pakistan, to take steps to resolve the problem of stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh. He noted that some of these Pakistanis were repatriated to Pakistan in 1974 under the rule of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, while some others were transferred during the period of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1993.
Mohammed Ameel Usmani, another guest of honor, recalled in his speech the remarkable developments that he has witnessed in Saudi Arabia during the 45 years that he has lived in the Kingdom. Hamed Islam Khan, another speaker, described the Kingdom as the second home of Pakistanis. He emphasized that Pakistan would not be complete without Kashmir as well as the Pakistanis stranded in Bangladesh.
The speakers of the evening included Furukh Rasheed and Ahmad Bashir of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party, Sayyid Riyad Bukhari of the Pakistan Solidarity Organization, Tayyib Musani, general secretary of the Memon Society, Raja Zerin Khan and Khurshid Ahmed of the Kashmir Committee, Engineer Khaled Javed of the Engineers Forum, Sheikh Muhammad Luqman, Sayyid Nasruddin, Wasi Imam and Sayyid Ghazanfar Hassan. They all hailed the excellent relations between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
They also called on Prime Minister Imran Khan to solve the problem of stranded Pakistanis who have been languishing in miserable camps in Bangladesh since 1971. Furukh Rasheed expressed his willingness to raise the issue with Imran Khan, who promised to solve all the problems plaguing Pakistan. He noted that the problem of stranded Pakistanis is not only a national issue but also a humanitarian one and hence it must be resolved according to the principles on which Pakistan was founded.
When my turn came to address the gathering, I started with thanking organizers of the meeting. I also thanked the audience for their keenness to celebrate the National Day of Saudi Arabia, and reminded the audience what the Prophet (peace be upon him) said upon leaving Makkah for Madinah during his Hijrah: “You are the most beloved place for me on the earth. Had I not been driven out of you, I would not have left you.” This shows the importance of patriotism and how the celebration of the National Day reminds us of the position of our nation and the intensity of our pride and love of our country.
One of the most important events in the history of the Kingdom was its being named Saudi Arabia at the completion of the unification in 1932 after a long period during which it was known by different names. National Day was first celebrated during the reign of King Faisal to commemorate the day when the name Saudi Arabia was adopted.
I recall that I attended the first National Day celebrations abroad while working in the diplomatic corps in Pakistan. The embassy held a big party at the Beach Luxury Hotel in Karachi. National Day is a holiday in the Kingdom. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman honored the day by announcing a two-day holiday for this year’s celebrations.
As usual, I do not allow myself to speak in any forum without drawing attention to the suffering of Pakistanis who have been stranded in Bangladesh since 1971. I visited some of their miserable camps while working at the Saudi embassy in Bangladesh more than 30 years ago. These people are still waiting to be repatriated and rehabilitated in Pakistan as promised by successive Pakistani governments. And now a new prime minister has assumed power and there is great hope that there will be a solution to this problem, which has damaged not only Pakistan’s reputation and history, but also even the very idea of Pakistan itself, because of the delay of previous governments in finding a permanent solution to this lingering problem.
At the end of the seminar, PRC official Syed Ihsan Al-Haq proposed a vote of thanks. He thanked the audience and stressed that Pakistan-Saudi relations are based on Islamic principles and values, and hence they should be strengthened in all fields. He brought up several resolutions that were approved by the attendees of the symposium.
Haq concluded his speech with a request to Imran Khan to establish a strategic Commission between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in order to further bolster bilateral relations between the two countries and facilitate the repatriation and rehabilitation of stranded Pakistanis even if it is by means of self-financing. The recommendations of the event also included the establishment of a standing committee for Kashmir and condemnation of violations by Indian forces against Kashmiris.
Finally, I urged the OIC to take measures to pressure the government of Myanmar to allow the return of Rohingya refugees to their homes. The moderator of the symposium was the well-known journalist Syed Mussarat Khalil who praised the distinguished relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, and called for their further strengthening in all areas.
— Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi is a former Saudi diplomat who specializes in Southeast Asian affairs. He can be reached at algham@hotmail.com
