ISLAMABAD: Pakistan expressed concern on Tuesday over the plight of the Rohingya and asked the Myanmar government to ensure the fundamental rights of the persecuted Muslim community.

“The current displacement of a large number of Muslims, who are adrift on boats in the Indian Ocean without access to food and drinking water, is worrisome,” the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement.

The statement was issued ahead of the two-day meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Council of Foreign Ministers, in Kuwait. The meeting, which begins on Wednesday, will be attended by Sartaj Aziz, the PM’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security.

According to the FO, Pakistan is sponsoring an OIC resolution at the meeting, titled ‘The Situation of the Muslim Community in Myanmar’.

The resolution calls on Myanmar to work towards restoring stability and launching a comprehensive reconciliation process in the Rakhine State, south of Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal, which is home to the Rohingya.

Mr Aziz had written to the OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers last week, asking them to play their role in the rescue and rehabilitation of displaced Rohingya Muslims.

“Mr Aziz will also be taking up the issue during the Council of Foreign Ministers’ session so as to evolve a common position among the member states,” the FO said.

Earlier in March at the 28th session of Human Rights Council, Pakistan had pressed Myanmar to grant citizenship and other rights to the Rohingyas.

The world woke up to the plight of the Rohingya over the past few weeks after thousands of people were found on boats in Southeast Asian seas, trying to flee harassment and discrimination in Myanmar. Indonesia and Malaysia had, under international pressure, agreed to admit some 7,000 of what are being described as “boat people”.

The desperate act of leaving Myanmar on precarious boats is not a new phenomenon. According to the UNHCR, about 50,000 Rohingya left Myanmar between January and November 2014. It is estimated that on average, some 900 Rohingya attempt to leave Myanmar every day.

According to the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO), the Rohingya are an 800,000-strong Muslim community in Myanmar who have been denied the right to citizenship and even the right to self-identity.

“The Rohingyas are subject to many restrictions: banned from travelling without authorisation and prohibited from working outside their villages, they cannot even get married without permission from the authorities, and they lack sufficient access to food, medical care and education,” according to a recent ECHO fact sheet.

In 2012, Rohingya suffered attacks by extremist Buddhists where dozens were killed and over 140,000 were displaced, most of whom now live in camps.

“Pakistan strongly believes that peaceful coexistence of all communities in Myanmar, with provision of fundamental rights like citizenship, freedom to practice religion, education and security, is essential to peace, progress and prosperity of the country,” the FO said.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2015

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