Pakistani president expresses concerns to Burma

akistan President Asif Ali Zardari Photo: presidentofpakistan.gov.pk

 Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday wrote to his  Burmese counterpart expressing concern over the loss of life and property of Rohingya Muslims during the recent ethnic clashes in western Burma. 

In a letter addressed to the President Thein Sein, Zardari called for hastening the process of rehabilitation of Rohingya Muslims so that they can return to their homes and lead a safe and secure life, according to his presidential website.

The Pakistani president made his remarks days after the Pakistani Senate adopted a resolution, expressing serious concern at the recent reported attacks on Muslims in Burma.

Religious group in Pakistan have also urged the government to officially take up the issue with the Burmese government.

In July, the Amnesty International said that communal violence was “continuing in western Myanmar six weeks after the government declared a state of emergency, with much of it directed at minority Muslim Rohingyas who have been beaten, raped and killed.”

President Zardrai said that the government and the people of Pakistan were saddened to learn about the losses of the Muslims and were deeply concerned about their plight.

Underlining the importance of peaceful co-existence of various communities for the strengthening of democracy in Burma, he said communal harmony was imperative to reap the fruits of democracy and  only peaceful coexistence of various communities would ensure that the democratic transition was not reversed.

Meanwhile, on Monday Saudi Arabia has accused authorities in Buddhist-majority Burma of “ethnic cleansing” against the Muslim Rohingya minority in the west of the country, according to wire reports.

The Saudi cabinet said it “condemns the ethnic cleansing campaign and brutal attacks against Myanmar's Muslim Rohingya citizens, as well as violation of human rights by forcing them to leave their homeland,” in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

The cabinet, chaired by King Abdullah, urged the “international community to take up its responsibilities by providing needed protection and quality of life to Muslims in Myanmar and preventing further loss of life.”

The Saudi-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Sunday proposed sending an OIC mission to probe the "massacres" of Rohingya Muslims.

Burma’s government considers an estimated 800,000 Rohingya in the country to be foreigners, while many citizens see them as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh and view them with hostility. They are denied citizenship.