Federal Communication Minister Babar Ghauri persuaded the protestors to call off their fast unto death, and assured them that he would place their grievances before the Cabinet.
Meeting representatives of stranded 'Pakistanis' in Bangladesh at Pakistan High Commission the Minister apologised for the statement by Pakistan High Commissioner in Dhaka, Alamgir Babar, that "we do not recognise them as Pakistanis".
He said that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and his Cabinet colleagues view this as a humanitarian issue and are willing to lend a helping hand in resolving this longstanding problem.
He asked them to undertake a survey of how many of their kith and kin were willing to continue living in Bangladesh as they are now the third generation among them, which may not have the same feelings about Pakistan as their elders.
The Minister was informed that at least the cases of divided families must take precedence in repatriation and rehabilitation and visas must be issued by Pakistan High Commission permitting them to resettle at their own cost.
There are 66 camps with around 250,000 stranded Pakistanis living in appalling conditions. For the last two years wheat ration of 3-4 kg per person per month has been stopped by Bangladesh government due to shortage.
A tripartite meeting between the two governments and the stranded Pakistanis must be held to finalise some kind of an arrangement, they demanded.