KARACHI, Dec 16: Intellectuals, politicians and key members of the coalition government warned on Tuesday that the factors that had led to the fall of Dhaka in 1971 had started re-emerging, demanding maturity by political parties and right policies by the government to prevent a repeat of the tragedy.

At a seminar on ‘Suqoot-i-Dhaka – Muqam-i-Ibrat ya Nidamat’, organised by the Tehreek-i-Mehsooreen-i-Mashriqi Pakistan to mark the 37th anniversary of the Dhaka fall, speakers said the ghost of ethnicity, which had triggered the separation movement in former East Pakistan, still threatened the federation.

“It’s the darkest day of the history of the country,” said Fatima Surraya Bajia, in a voice choking with emotion.

“But, unfortunately, we haven’t learnt from history and the situation we are facing domestically and internationally shatter my hopes (for a better future of the country) with each passing day.”

The noted playwright said it was ethnicity that gave birth to the politics of hatred that ultimately caused the split of the country, founded for a common cause of the Muslims of South Asia, in less than 25 years of its creation. Bajia also criticised those who felt pride in recognising themselves as Mohajirs (migrants).

“Though my elders migrated from India, I am not a Mohajir. Nor is any of my family members. I am a part of this country and thus am a Pakistani.”

She praised the MQM leadership for changing the party’s name from the Mohajir Qaumi Movement to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, which promoted the feeling of brotherhood among communities.

Noted poet Jamiluddin Aali said that threats that had “killed the united Pakistan” were no longer stranger in the current political and economic situations. He insisted that only an honest leadership could meet these challenges through wise policies and collective efforts.

“After 37 years of this national tragedy, the history of the event has almost disappeared from our collective memory,” he said. “Both the nation and rulers have forgotten the incident. I agree it’s the darkest day of our history. It’s also the day of the demise of our national honour. I don’t see anyone raising their voice to mark this day at the national level.”

He said the ruling class as well as a majority of the people appeared unwilling to learn any lesson from the tragedy and such a situation was no less tragic.

“Since we don’t remember the fall of Dhaka, its causes and its outcome, how can we expect a policy to bring those less than half a million stranded Pakistanis back to their homeland. A large number of their elders have passed away and their dream of living in Pakistan has been buried with them,” he added.

He stressed the unity of the nation and formulation of policies by the government which could bring about harmony and tolerance among the masses, who were disappointed at the betrayal of politicians’ promises of making Pakistan prosperous.On settlement of about 300,000 stranded Pakistanis in the country, Rauf Siddiqi, Sindh Minister for Industries, said he would take up the matter with the authorities, and recognised that the MQM, his party, owned this issue.

“I personally saw those 300,000 odd Pakistanis condemned to live in camps when I first visited Bangladesh in 1988,” he said. “My party is well aware of the sensitivity of the issue and in the past we had managed to bring to Pakistan some of those Pakistanis.”

He said he agreed with Fatima Surraya Bajia and Jamiluddin Aali that ethnicity was the major cause that had triggered the separation movement in former East Pakistan and said in the recent political landscape, there was a need to develop a broad-based policy that catered to genuine demands of the different communities living in Pakistan.

“So, please, forget your ethnic backgrounds and be Pakistanis,” the minister asked the audience. “I am well aware of the problem of computerised identity cards of those who migrated here after the Dhaka Fall and I personally assure you that we would soon take up this issue with Nadra (National Database Registration Authority) authorities and the town administrations concerned to help those being denied their right.”

Speaking at the seminar, Nihal Hashmi of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) floated a couple of suggestions to keep the tragedy alive in history so that it could be transferred to the next generation.“A chapter about the Dhaka Fall be included in the syllabus,” he said. “The Dhaka Fall is a tragedy and if we forget it, it would be another one. Most of our school-going children don’t know the significance of December 16. And it’s our responsibility as individuals as well as at the governmental level to make them aware of the history.”

Haider Ali Haider, secretary-general of the Tehreek-i-Mehsooreen-i-Mashriqi Pakistan, presented a resolution at the seminar, demanding a defined policy for the repatriation of the stranded Pakistanis and for help of those who migrated here after the Dhaka Fall in acquiring their computerised national identity cards.