Author: Arun Rajnath
Publication:
Date: November 8, 2004
Somewhat intrigued by the indirect
requests and appeals by visiting Pakistani MQM leader, Mr. Altaf Hussain,
to grant political asylum to his supporters in India, the Indian Home Ministry
has categorically rejected his emotional pleas.
Minister of State for Home Affairs,
S. Reghupati told the `South Asia Tribune': "Such proposals are not viable
or practical, and Mr. Hussain himself understands it. If we grant asylum
to Pakistani Mohajirs (refugees), why not to Bangladeshis? Then we should
also cease our actions of identifying illegal migrants from Bangladesh
and we should open our doors for every Mohajir, and give them legal status."
Officials said in his meeting with
the Indian Foreign Minister, Natwar Singh, Mr. Hussain requested that his
supporters, the Mohajirs, be granted Long Term Visas (LTV) to live in India.
He also requested the Indians to show leniency when considering such cases,
especially of the Mohajir community, if they are legally entitled to get
the Indian citizenship.
Indian analysts are scratching their
heads to understand what it was that Mr. Hussain, now a key ally of the
military government in Pakistan and having his own nominee as the all powerful
Governor of Sindh, was talking about his supporters seeking political asylum
in India. Was he expecting another crackdown any time soon?
These analysts think Mr. Hussain's
requests reflected a deep sense of insecurity and lack of confidence in
the durability of the present Pakistani set up as Mr. Hussain was not only
staying in self-imposed exile himself in UK but was even talking about
a large number of his supporters running away from Pakistan to seek asylum
in India, as chances of getting asylum in the US and UK had diminished
after 9/11.
It may be of interest that during
the past crackdowns on MQM in Pakistan, especially during operations launched
by the Pakistan Army in the 90s, a huge number of MQM supporters fled the
country and took asylum in US and UK, with some of them going to India
as well, though there they stayed underground.
An understanding of any sort, if
given to Mr. Hussain by the Indians, would result in a huge number of MQM
supporters entering India through the large Pak-India border in Sindh and
this prospect does not cheer up many in the policy making corridors in
New Delhi, analysts say.
Despite being termed as `Not War
Singh' by Mr. Hussain, Natwar Singh has given him no assurance of considering
his plea to grant LTVs to Mohajirs to entitle them to live here for a longer
period.
While talking about the internal
conditions in Pakistan with Natwar Singh, Mr. Hussain expressed the desire
of several Mohajirs to return to India. He told Mr. Singh the second generation
of the Mohajir community was now facing the "acrimonious fruit of the 1947
partition".
He also recited an Urdu couplet
during his interaction with Natwar Singh: `Yeh waqt bhi dekha hai taareekh
ke safahon ne; Lamhon ne khata ki thi, sadiyon ne sazaa payee'
(Annals of History have witnessed
the phenomenon that blunders committed in a short span of time resulted
in punishment for centuries)
Foreign Ministry officials told
the `South Asia Tribune' Mr. Hussain had also revealed that a large number
of his Mohajir community wanted to return to their roots, and most of them
wanted their Indian citizenship back.
Though he did not directly request
Natwar Singh to "grant asylum" to Mohajirs, he made it clear that this
was exactly what he wanted. It would be a great service to humanity to
be more lenient towards the Mohajirs. They should be given Long Term Visas,
if asylum was a politically incorrect term at this time to use, he pleaded.
Asked to comment on the subject,
Secretary, Minority Cell (Congress Party), Meem Afzal had different views:
"The new generation of the Pakistan Mohajirs does not wish to re-unite
with India or return to their roots. Their counterparts in India also do
not wish their relatives to come back from Pakistan to settle down in India.
It is just a matter of a few years and after the end of the second generation
or Altaf Hussain's generation, the ghost of nostalgia will just disappear."
Apart from this some of the Mohajirs
were declared `dead' in property documents/papers/ records at the time
of the partition by other members of the family to protect their property
from being taken over by Indian authorities. Those who stayed behind claimed
full inheritance. If they or their children return to India, it would
complicate matters a lot.
Mr. Afzal says that it takes 15-20
years for Pakistani women married to Indians to get citizenship of India.
In this situation, how asylum could be granted to Mohajirs. Mr. Hussain
has also made this point before Natwar Singh.
There are several such cases in
Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. A Muslim girl of Old Delhi was married to a Pakistani
boy, and subsequently became a Pakistani citizen. But after sometime, her
husband divorced her, and she returned to India in 1990. Her Indian citizenship
has not been restored till now despite all efforts.
Such women are deliberately being
denied Indian citizenship. They have to struggle to get the validity-period
of their visas to be extended, besides appearing before the local police
station now and then. Intelligence agents also keep an eye on Pakistani
nationals residing within their area.
The Government of India had virtually
kept Altaf Hussain under `room- arrest' the whole day on November 6, and
nobody was allowed to see him or his party men. Various government officials
and security men paid visits to him the whole day. While sitting in the
lobby of Mauriya Sheraton Hotel, this correspondent saw officials of the
Indian intelligence watching every movement of Altaf Hussain.
An official was also posted at the
Reception Counter of the hotel who used to ascertain the identity of all
visitors for Altaf Hussain. No phone calls were allowed to his room from
the Reception. The calls transferred to his room by phone operators were
automatically diverted to the voice mailbox provided by the hotel to its
guests. Mr. Hussain and his aides were given cellular phones with special
numbers.
