KARACHI, March 28: The Awami Himayat Tehreek has demanded that identity cards and passports be issued to Bengali-speaking people residing here as they were true and real Pakistanis.

Addressing a press conference at the Karachi Pres Club, AHT chief Maulvi Iqbal Haider said though Bengalis had given sacrifices during the Pakistan Movement, some short-sighted government functionaries were creating hassles for them and aimless questions were being asked from them when they went for an identity card or a passport.

He said that some police officials posted in the Bangladesh Cell routinely visited Bengali slums – Machhar Colony, Korangi 100 Quarters, Orangi, Ziaul Haq Colony, and picked up unassuming Bengalis and later if they paid bribe they were let off, but the poor people who could not provide bribe were arrested in fabricated cases and sent to jail for illegally crossing over the border.

Iqbal Haider said that out of the large number of Bengalis in jails only a few might have crossed over the border illegally, while the overwhelming majority of these prisoners had actually been picked up from the streets or their various colonies in the city. He urged the government that police must be directed not to arrest the innocent Bengali-speaking Pakistanis. Besides, he said that they should be facilitated to overcome their difficulties in getting the identity card and passport.

On the occasion, the AHT chief announced that his party would issue membership cards to every Pakistani, including Bengalis, and would provide all assistance so that their political and constitutional rights were not violated.