THIS is apropos of the letter, 'Plight of Rohingya Muslims' (Nov 9), by Khalid Chaudhry(Nov 9).

In Pakistan too there are thousands of Muslims living in squalor and migrating to other countries in search of better living conditions.

The writer says Rohingyas do not own land and are being persecuted by the Myanmar junta. In Pakistan too there are millions of landless peasants and thousands of them are working as bonded labour in private jails of influential landlords? In most cases, peasants have been found in chains and their women abused.

There are no private jails in Myanmar. But Rohingyas are free to leave their country for better economic conditions. Unfortunately, the Rohingyas are landing in a country whose own citizens are selling themselves to human traffickers.

According to statistics collected by the interior ministry and published by Dawn (Nov 10), 134,926 Pakistanis were repatriated from various countries of the world over the last five years.

In 2005, deportees numbering 33,993 were received back in the country. In 2006, the number of deportees were 22,382, in 2007, 24,952, in 2008, 33,960 and up to September 2009, 19,639 people have been sent back to Pakistan from all around the world.

Unemployment, economic backwardness, civil unrest, political uncertainty and urge for better life are said to be the common reasons behind people falling victim to human smugglers.

Every now and then, heart - rending stories of Pakistanis dying in trawlers from suffocation or from bullets of border police appear in the media.

Even then the trend is on and parents prefer to send their siblings to developed world where they believe chances of living a better life are better than in Pakistan.

Thousands of Pakistanis are rescued in the Mediterranean Sea. Mostly they are stuffed in containers and cartons. Hundreds have died due to lack of oxygen in these containers and boxes. And their bodies are thrown into the sea.

One other thing to be linked to Afghan, Burmese and Bengali illegal immigrants is that they are enticed by human traffickers to migrate to Pakistan. Early this year, a container full of dead Afghan nationals was found in Quetta. They had died from suffocation.

It has become a fashion with us to worry about the plight of Muslims in other countries while ignore what is happening at home.

It is true that not only Rohingyas are migrating to Pakistan but Muslims from across the world are crossing into Pakistan.

According to Nadra, three million illegal immigrants live in Karachi. Like Pakistanis are enticed for better jobs in the Middle East and Europe, Muslims in Afghanistan, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and several other countries are enticed by human traffickers to go to Pakistan.

The worst scenario is that Middle Eastern and European countries have better policing and immigrant laws. They are capturing Pakistanis and sending them back to their countries. Those landing in Karachi are allowed to live.

M.C.
Karachi