ISLAMABAD: All of Pakistan’s parliamentary parties have demanded the government to hold the country’s envoy at the Office of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for abstaining to vote on a resolution against killings of civilians and human rights violations in Syria.
“Pakistan has committed a blunder by not supporting the resolution and it must be investigated as to why our envoy at the UN Human Rights Council abstained from voting,” Sen. Taj Haider of Pakistan Peoples Party told Arab News.
He said the government should explain its position on the gaffe in Parliament as it is a matter of grave concern for the people. “By abstaining from vote, we indirectly sent a message to the international community that Pakistan stands with the oppressor in Syria instead of the innocent people,” he said.
On March 5, a resolution was moved in the UNHHRC on the deteriorating situation of human rights in Eastern Ghouta and it was adopted by a vote of 29 in favor and four against. Fourteen countries including Pakistan abstained from the voting.
Speaking on floor of the National Assembly on Friday, Minister for Foreign Affairs Khawaja Muhammad Asif said: “It is a matter of shame as our envoy did not cast a vote against atrocities on Syrian people.”
He was responding to questions raised by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, a coalition partner of the government, who informed the House that Pakistan abstained from voting on the resolution.
Talking to Arab News, JUI-F Member National Assembly Naeema Kishwar said her party has demanded the government to investigate the matter and present a detailed report of it in the Parliament.
“We want the Parliament to hold the envoy accountable for the blunder,” she said, “it is a matter of shame for us that we have not voted in favor of the resolution that condemned violence against Syrian people.”
Kishwar said Pakistani liberals criticized the government when it deployed troops in Saudi Arabia, but they are silent on atrocities being committed against innocents in Syria. “Our government needs to come up with a clear stance that Pakistanis condemn violence against Syrians,” she said, “we also want the Parliament to pass a consensus resolution condemning atrocities against innocent Syrians.”
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Member National Assembly Dr. Shireen Mazari told Arab News that Pakistan’s role at the UNHRC in the matter of Syrian resolutions reflects the poor foreign policy of the government.
“Syria has become a battlefield where different Muslim countries have different positions, but we should be very much clear in our stance that we condemn violence against innocent people in all its forms,” she said.
Talking to Arab News, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan MNA Ali Raza Abidi also demanded the government investigate the matter thoroughly and brief the Parliament about it. “It should be investigated if the diplomat stayed back because of any pressure or arrangement,” he said.
Dr. Mohammad Faisal, spokesman for Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Arab News that Pakistan supports a peaceful and political solution to end the crisis to ensure security and stability in the region, including respect for the territorial integrity of Syria.
“We are concerned at the humanitarian situation and urge all sides to enable provision of humanitarian and medical assistance to the innocent men, women and children and to take urgent measures for their safety and security,” he said.
Faisal refused to comment if the ministry will investigate against Pakistani diplomat at the OHCHR for abstaining from the voting.
However, the foreign minister assured the National Assembly on Friday: “I’ll let the House know on Monday as to why Pakistan did not vote on the resolution.”
Pakistan's foreign ministry in hot waters after envoy abstains from voting on Syria
Pakistan's foreign ministry in hot waters after envoy abstains from voting on Syria
Bangladesh halts controversial relocation of Rohingya refugees to remote island
- Administration of ousted PM Sheikh Hasina spent about $350m on the project
- Rohingya refuse to move to island and 10,000 have fled, top refugee official says
DHAKA: When Bangladesh launched a multi-million-dollar project to relocate Rohingya refugees to a remote island, it promised a better life. Five years on, the controversial plan has stalled, as authorities find it is unsustainable and refugees flee back to overcrowded mainland camps.
The Bhasan Char island emerged naturally from river sediments some 20 years ago. It lies in the Bay of Bengal, over 60 km from Bangladesh’s mainland.
Never inhabited, the 40 sq. km area was developed to accommodate 100,000 Rohingya refugees from the cramped camps of the coastal Cox’s Bazar district.
Relocation to the island started in early December 2020, despite protests from the UN and humanitarian organizations, which warned that it was vulnerable to cyclones and flooding, and that its isolation restricted access to emergency services.
Over 1,600 people were then moved to Bhasan Char by the Bangladesh Navy, followed by another 1,800 the same month. During 25 such transfers, more than 38,000 refugees were resettled on the island by October 2024.
The relocation project was spearheaded by the government of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted last year. The new administration has since suspended it indefinitely.
“The Bangladesh government will not conduct any further relocation of the Rohingya to Bhasan Char island. The main reason is that the country’s present government considers the project not viable,” Mizanur Rahman, refugee relief and repatriation commissioner in Cox’s Bazar, told Arab News on Sunday.
The government’s decision was prompted by data from UN agencies, which showed that operations on Bhasan Char involved 30 percent higher costs compared with the mainland camps in Cox’s Bazar, Rahman said.
“On the other hand, the Rohingya are not voluntarily coming forward for relocation to the island. Many of those previously relocated have fled ... Around 29,000 are currently living on the island, while about 10,000 have returned to Cox’s Bazar on their own.”
A mostly Muslim ethnic minority, the Rohingya have lived for centuries in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state but were stripped of their citizenship in the 1980s and have faced systemic persecution ever since.
In 2017 alone, some 750,000 of them crossed to neighboring Bangladesh, fleeing a deadly crackdown by Myanmar’s military. Today, about 1.3 million of them shelter in 33 camps in the coastal Cox’s Bazar district, making it the world’s largest refugee settlement.
Bhasan Char, where the Bangladeshi government spent an estimated $350 million to construct concrete residential buildings, cyclone shelters, roads, freshwater systems, and other infrastructure, offered better living conditions than the squalid camps.
But there was no regular transport service to the island, its inhabitants were not allowed to travel freely, and livelihood opportunities were few and dependent on aid coming from the mainland.
Rahman said: “Considering all aspects, we can say that Rohingya relocation to Bhasan Char is currently halted. Following the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s regime, only one batch of Rohingya was relocated to the island.
“The relocation was conducted with government funding, but the government is no longer allowing any funds for this purpose.”
“The Bangladeshi government has spent around $350 million on it from its own funds ... It seems the project has not turned out to be successful.”
