Good on ya Bangladesh!

I just got a thought. does this mean Pakistan is not about islam? If so, should not they accept any Muslim who wants to be a citizen of pakistan? thinking further, are people in Azad Kashmir still pakistani? I am not sure whether they fought with pakistan army or indian army. I guess the majority are muslims.

Ref Mullah32 #13

In your next incarnation as caterpillar sh!t, you would be better off than your current incarnation as cockroach sh!t.

Tahmed sahib,

(On the moral aspects, I think the real injusties done in 1971 were the killings of innocent people)

Yes. And injustice includes killing of Urdu speaking non combatants by Mukti Bahini/general as much as Bangla speaking citizens of Pak by Army/Irregulars. And both sets of perpetrators should have been brought to justice.

(I also know many Bangladeshis who never wanted separation and who would, if they could, have moved to Pakistan as well. No one considers Pakistan morally bound to give them citizenship.)

Now it is for Pakistanis to decide whether they have a moral duty to give citizenship or not. In any case Bengali speaking citizens of B'desh have been accepted as Bdesh citizens so at least these guys have not been left high and dry unlike "stranded Pakistanis" who were until recently.

Regards

harish_hyd: I have to go now, and so may not respond to anything you write right away. Have a good day.

#19 harish_hyd: I have already noted that Pakistan should have investigated and tried those charged with war crimes, so you dont need to convince me on this point. As for what happened in the three decades - like I said, legally and morally it was for bangladesh government to have done what it has done now (i.e. give citizenship to individuals domiciled in former east pakistan, regardless of ethnicity). So ask the bangladesh government why it took them so long to do what it finally did now.

#18 by tahmed32

....then remember that the Pakistani army was headed for POW camps in India, and was hardly in a position to take them anywhere with them.

tahmed32 Sahib, I'm not talking about the time in the immediate aftermath of 1971, but the almost 3 decades since then. The Paki Armymen in the PoW camps were repatriated (and some like Tikka Khan went on to preside over more atrocities in Balochistan) without ever being questioned about their role in the butchering of Bengalis, yet the Biharis found no forgiving godfathers in West Pakistan.

Also, talking of morality, these paramilitaries did some of the worst atrocities on civilians.

And what about the atrocities committed by the Pakistani Army? Were they any less than those committed by these Biharis? Why hold the Paki Army to a different standard from the one applied to these folks?

harish_hyd: If by "fought for Pakistan" you mean the paramilitaries (urdu-speaking and islamic parties) that fought alongside the pakistan army, then remember that the Pakistani army was headed for POW camps in India, and was hardly in a position to take them anywhere with them. Also, talking of morality, these paramilitaries did some of the worst atrocities on civilians.

So, it is easy in a vacuum to say what is morally right - but look at the realities and a different picture emerges.

#15 majumdar: On the moral aspects, I think the real injusties done in 1971 were the killings of innocent people - i.e. not one individual was tried for war crimes in either Pakistan or in Bangladesh, not one cold blooded murderer brought to justice. And atrocities were committed on both sides as I can say first hand - the principal of Chittagong Public School was a family friend of ours and he was killed in cold blood by mukti bahini e.g. I also know many Bangladeshis who never wanted separation and who would, if they could, have moved to Pakistan as well. No one considers Pakistan morally bound to give them citizenship.

As far as I can tell (and I am no apologist for any Pakistani government), it was for Bangladesh to do the morally correct thing which it never did until now. Like I mentioned, this would have been to bring to justice those among the bihari community it considered as having committed war crimes, and to permit the rest of the community to full citizenship rights like all other individuals domiciled in former east pakistan province regardless of ethnicity. That is why I dont see any reason to applaud the bangladesh government for doing what it should have done 36 years ago as a moral as well as de facto legal responsibility.

#15 by majumdar

The "stranded Pakistanis" had migrated from India to Pakistan, not Bdesh.

Even if there was no legal obligation, not even Pakis bitterly opposed to their acceptance deny that these folks fought for Pakistan, so it is the moral obligation of the Paki govt. to have accepted them. Instead we find folks like tahmed32 vehemently arguing against their repatriation to Pakistan. If this is what the average Paki thinks (thankfully there are scores arguing against this position), B'deshi citizenship is the best thing that could have happened to them.

Tahmed sahib,

The "stranded Pakistanis" had migrated from India to Pakistan, not Bdesh. During the 1970-71, many of these people fought on the behalf of Pakistan against Bengalis. After Bdesh broke up, they wanted to be citizens of Pakistan, not Bdesh. There may not have been a legal obligation to repatriate these people to Pakistan but I do see a clear moral obligation towards them.

And if there was no legal obligation towards them the GoP may well have said so openly "Look it was your mistake to have fought for us and to want to be Pakistanis now. But there is no legal obligation on our side so we aint taking you back, so get lost"

Regards

majumdar #11 what would be correct is if the pakistan government did what i suggested earlier below the bangladesh government should have done and never did - i.e identify those individuals living in pakistan and bangladesh respectively who were guilty of war crimes (i.e. attacking innocent people) and bring them to justice.

wrt to transfer of populations, there was never any explicit formula drawn up as far as i know, and so the de facto rule applied was to allow individuals domiciled in former west pakistani provinces to return to pakistan, and for individuals domiciled in former east pakistan to stay there. So, contrary to what you believe and what this article indicates, the pakistan government never had the same obligation to accept these people, and so the bangladesh government has merely permitted 36 years to pass before doing what it should have done right away.

harimau#12 that was a very clever reply.

of course, it fails to respond to anything i wrote about your lies (an idiotlogue specialty it seems) and about your inability to understand why there is no excuse for murdering innocent people.

Ref Mullah32 #10

[#9 harimau:

You are incapable of changing your mindset, and will be reborn as a caterpillar along with jay thakeray and the rest of your RSS goons.]

When I am born a caterpillar, you would still be my sh!t.

Tahmed sahib,

Der aaye durust aaye. Govt. of Bdesh may have been late in acknowledging the stranded Pakistanis but finally they did, the Govt. of Pak has yet to acknowledge. Kudos to the B'deshi people and their Govt.

Regards

PS: How come Salimbhai hasn't joined in yet.

#9 harimau: i am glad truth i told you years ago is still hurting you. and is this truth so hard to bear that you have to make up lies (in true idiotlogue fashion) about my branding all hindus black, when i never said anything of the kind. The truth is that it is you who has been justifying (and still stick to this view, per your post below!!) the brutal killing of thousands of muslims in their homes as being justifiable revenge for the "torching of hindu pilgrims in a hindu-majority country".

And i never said the rest of your bs (tall fair crap).

This must be the first post i have written to you in the past couple of years - and it is the last. You are incapable of changing your mindset, and will be reborn as a caterpillar along with jay thakeray and the rest of your RSS goons.

Ref vanguard #4 and abu_safwaan #7

Don't try to have a reasoned discussion with Chowk's resident mullah. He would be for not branding all Biharis in Bangladesh as traitors while simultaneously branding all Hindus black for the retaliation against Muslims AFTER they torched a train carrying Hindu pilgrims in a Hindu-majority country.

He has one standard of justice for Pakistanis, one for Muslims and another for the rest of the world. And Bangladeshis, not being tall or fair and not wearing shalwar-kameezes, cannot be Muslims!