Pakistan fears that the working conditions for its nationals living abroad could become starker and harsher in the aftermath of the execution-style killings of 132 Parisians by Islamic State terrorists. The Paris massacre has already triggered a xenophobic and anti-Muslim sentiment in Europe with far-right groups stepping up their campaigns against the influx of refugees from Muslim countries. According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), more than 750,000 migrants are estimated to have arrived in Europe by sea so far this year. Syrians top the list of people seeking asylum in Europe, followed by Afghans, Kosovars, Iraqis, Albanians and Pakistanis. Ch. Nisar Ali Khan deserves appreciation for his loud thinking about plight of Overseas Pakistanis especially those in European countries and the United States in wake of dastardly attacks in Paris. In a statement on Sunday, he apprehended that they might face hard times and therefore, there was need to formulate a specific policy and strategy to handle crisis.
It is good that the Minister has not only confined himself to issuing a statement, but also convened a meeting to discuss the issue and firm up a policy for the purpose. It is hoped that all stakeholders would come up with firm proposals which would be followed up to ensure provision of necessary assistance to Pakistani nationals abroad who might face some kind of persecution or harassment at the hands of the host governments or extremist groups. The Paris mayhem has already stoked a fresh wave of xenophobic and anti-Muslim sentiments in Europe with far-right groups stepping up campaign against the influx of refugees from Muslim countries. Muslims including Pakistanis living in Europe have been facing discrimination since 9/11 and their difficulties have been multiplied by provocative statements and actions of some anti-Muslim circles in Western societies. The overall thinking of the West towards Muslims and Islamic countries is best described by author of ‘Clash of Civilizations’ Huntington who claimed “Islam has bloody borders”. Stereotypes of “Muslim terrorists” have already permeated throughout the Western society where anyone with a beard and/or dark features is frequently treated as suspect. This is despite the fact that Al-Qaeda, Taliban and ISIS do not represent Islam and insteadMuslim countries including Pakistan are also victims of their terror. Notwithstanding the consequences of the Paris attacks, Pakistanis have been deported from more than 40 countries in the last two years, as many as 97,000 of them, and adding the antipathies that are the likely concomitant of the Paris attacks, our citizens are increasingly unwelcome wherever they turn. Pakistanis overseas are a very considerable national asset, providing a monthly cushion of remittances that reaches into the billions of dollars annually. With the IS claiming the massacres in Paris, the management of savagery is revealed as being far from ‘mindless’ as terrorists are so often and wrongly described. For them, a primary goal is being achieved and built on day-on-day. Fear, mistrust and a sense of terror all had a layer added, and the demonisation of Islam proceeds apace.
pk.shafaqna.com
