Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, in her message on World Refugee Day, said that becoming a refugee was not a crime but a painful compulsion, adding that no one chose to become displaced willingly.
She said people were often forced to leave their homes, land and shelter in order to save their lives. “No one becomes a refugee by choice. One has to abandon one’s courtyard, one’s soil and one’s roof to survive,” she said.
The chief minister observed that while wars eventually ended, the suffering of displaced people and the trauma of homelessness often persisted for generations.
Referring to the plight of refugees from Palestine and Syria, Maryam Nawaz said their continued displacement posed a serious challenge to the conscience of humanity. She said the world must realise that those seeking refuge were not weak, but victims of oppression.
The chief minister noted that Pakistan, despite its limited resources, had hosted millions of refugees with dignity and generosity.
She said Pakistan had always stood by the oppressed and would continue to raise its voice for the welfare and rights of refugees.
Maryam Nawaz expressed the hope that peace would prevail across the world, oppression would come to an end, and every individual would be able to live peacefully in their own city and home.