Proposed constitutional change to give legal status to Bengalis hailed

Thanking the federal government and a special parliamentary committee for suggesting a constitutional amendment to give legal status to the Bengalis living in Pakistan for four decades, leaders of the Pakistan Muslim Alliance (PMA), a political party representing the community, has said that denying computerised national identity cards was the biggest problem the community has been facing.

PMA leaders Khawaja Salman Khairuddin and Bachu Dewan told a recent news conference at the Karachi Press Club that about three million Bengalis lived in various parts of the city and preferred to stay in Pakistan after the country’s breakup back in 1971. 

“They lost all their properties/assets/lands in the former East Pakistan which they had inherited from their forefathers,” Khairuddin said. Describing the situation of the community in Karachi, he said that though they lived in precarious conditions, they had never involved in anti-state activities and always took part in the betterment of Pakistan. 

He said the Pakistani Bengalis in large numbers had been working in various industries, including fishing, garments and education. He maintained that even though the community members were the third generation and were born in Karachi, the NADRA did not issue them computerised national identity cards, leaving them vulnerable to being harassed by the law enforcement agencies.

Discussing the recent developments in which an 18-member special parliamentary committee suggested a constitutional amendment to give legal status to the Bengalis in Pakistan, Khairuddin said a PMA delegation met President Mamnoon Hussain, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal and other officials in Islamabad to discuss the citizenship issue of the community.