Descendants of migrants to Bangladesh may stay in abandoned properties: minister

ISLAMABAD: In a goodwill gesture, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry told the Senate on Tuesday that descendants or relatives of Pakistanis who migrated to Bangladesh after the fall of Dhaka could be allowed to stay in their abandoned properties in Pakistan.

Responding to a supplementary question by Senator Kamran Murtaza during the question hour, Dr. Chaudhry said, “Yes, it can be considered to trace descendants or relatives of those who migrated to what is now Bangladesh, abandoning their properties in present-day Pakistan, and allow them to stay in those properties, at least at this stage.”

He added that future measures could be considered once such individuals are identified. The minister explained that properties belonging to former East Pakistan nationals were declared as abandoned, commonly referred to as “Bengalis’ houses.” Dr. Chaudhry further noted that the government had taken control of such properties through a formal system, a practice consistent with international norms.