Stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh

{{Short description|Urdu-speaking citizens of East Pakistan in Bangladesh awaiting repatriation to Pakistan}} {{Multiple issues| {{more citations needed|date=October 2016}} {{Weasel|date=June 2021}} }} {{Use British English|date=March 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}} {{infobox ethnic group| | group = Stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh | image = Map of the Distribution of Urdu-Speaking Bihari Communities in Bangladesh.png | caption = A map showing the distribution of stranded Pakistani communities in Bangladesh. | population = 300,000–600,000<ref name=BBC/><ref name="Express Tribune"/><ref name=Tribune/> | regions = Bangladesh | religions = Islam | languages = Urdu, Bengali | related_groups = Muhajirs }} '''Stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh''' are Bihari and other Urdu-speaking Muhajirs who emigrated from India and settled in East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, following the partition of India in 1947.<ref>{{cite news |title=Stranded Pakistanis Dreaming of Deliverance |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/13/world/stranded-pakistanis-dreaming-of-deliverance.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=13 May 2000 |access-date=26 April 2015}}</ref><ref name=BBC1>{{cite news |title=Vote for 'stranded Pakistanis' |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3003949.stm |work=BBC News |date=6 May 2003 |access-date=26 April 2015}}</ref><ref name="The Guardian">{{cite news |title='Stranded Pakistanis' living in camps in Bangladesh – in pictures |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/gallery/2014/aug/11/stranded-pakistanis-camps-bangladesh-bihari-in-pictures |newspaper=The Guardian |date=11 August 2014 |access-date=26 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=SC rejects plea for repatriation of stranded Pakistanis |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1173194/sc-rejects-plea-for-repatriation-of-stranded-pakistanis |newspaper=Dawn |date=1 April 2015 |access-date=26 April 2015}}</ref><ref name="Express Tribune">{{cite news |title=SC rejects plea regarding repatriation of stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/861834/sc-rejects-plea-regarding-repatriation-of-stranded-pakistanis-in-bangladesh/ |newspaper=The Express Tribune |date=31 March 2015 |access-date=26 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Repatriation of stranded Pakistanis |url=http://www.daily-sun.com/print/editorial/2015/02/22/489052 |newspaper=Daily Sun |location=Dhaka |date=22 February 2015 |access-date=26 April 2015}}</ref> Biharis who were minors in 1971 when Bangladesh became independent after the Bangladesh Liberation War, or born later, were stateless until 2008 when a judgement by the Bangladesh High Court gave them right to Bangladeshi citizenship. Though the judgment does not cover refugees who were adults at the time of Bangladesh Liberation War.<ref name=BBC>{{cite news |title=Citizenship for Bihari refugees |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7407757.stm |work=BBC News |date=19 May 2008 |access-date=26 April 2015}}</ref> In March 2015, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan said that more than 170,000 Biharis had been repatriated to Pakistan and the remaining 'stranded Pakistanis' are not its responsibility but rather the responsibility of Bangladesh.<ref name=Tribune>{{cite news |title=Stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh not Pakistan's responsibility, FO tells SC |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/861364/stranded-pakistanis-in-bangladesh-not-pakistans-responsibility-fo-tells-sc/ |newspaper=The Express Tribune |date=30 March 2015 |access-date=26 April 2015}}</ref>

==Background == Biharis in Bangladesh are mainly Bihari Muslims who originate from Bihar in eastern India. Though the "Bihari" identification in Bangladesh can encompass other non-Bengali Urdu-speaking people as well. Such as those who had settled in what is now Bangladesh in the late 19th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Alexander |first1=Claire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gZ_hCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA96 |title=The Bengal Diaspora: Rethinking Muslim migration |last2=Chatterji |first2=Joya |last3=Jalais |first3=Annu |date=2015-11-06 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-33593-1 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1971, when the Bangladesh Liberation War broke out between West Pakistan and East Pakistan, most Biharis sided with West Pakistan and opposed the Bengali demand of making Bengali an official language. East Pakistan later became the independent state of Bangladesh. During the war, there were many attacks on the Bihari community as they were seen as symbols of West Pakistani domination.<ref>[http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/mar/chronology.asp?groupId=77103 Chronology for Biharis in Bangladesh - Minorities at Risk, University of Maryland] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602055513/http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/mar/chronology.asp?groupId=77103 |date=2 June 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/22/archives/bengalis-hunt-down-biharis-who-aided-foe.html |title=Bengalis Hunt Down Biharis, Who Aided Foe |last=Rangan |first=Kasturi |date=22 December 1971 |work=The New York Times |access-date=2 February 2018}}</ref> These attacks included rape, murder, and looting.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Untold Stories of the Independence War in Bangladesh |url=https://jacobinmag.com/2021/04/independence-war-bangladesh-pakistan-india |access-date=2022-03-20 |website=jacobinmag.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Khan |first=Engr Imtiaz Alam |date=2019-12-15 |title=HISTORY: THE FALL OF DHAKA FROM BIHARI EYES |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1522385 |access-date=2022-03-20 |website=Dawn |language=en}}</ref>

==Organizations and associations== The Stranded Pakistanis General Repatriation Committee (SPGRC) is an organization that advocates for the repatriation of Urdu-speaking Bihari Muslims to Pakistan. It was founded in the 1970s by Nasim Khan and is associated with refugee camp communities, including Geneva Camp. It represents people commonly described as stranded Pakistanis, with estimates of the population involved ranging from approximately 240,000 to 500,000 individuals.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://strandedpakistani.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Meet-the-Press-2007-01-18.pdf |title=Meet the Press |publisher=Stranded Pakistanis General Repatriation Committee |access-date=11 April 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-217323 |title=Govt to help stranded Pakistanis go back |newspaper=The Daily Star |date=6 January 2012 |access-date=11 April 2026}}</ref>

==Refugee and citizenship status== Due to their initial pro-Pakistan stance and severe persecution in Bangladesh, the Biharis were consistent in their wish to be repatriated to Pakistan. Initially, 83,000 Biharis (58,000 former civil servants and military personnel), members of divided families and 25,000 hardship cases were evacuated to Pakistan. The remaining Biharis were now left behind as the Pakistan Army and Pakistani civilians evacuated, and they found themselves unwelcome in both countries. The Pakistani government, at the time, was "struggling to accommodate thousands of Afghan refugees".<ref name="BBC2002"/> Additionally, the Pakistani government believed that since Bangladesh was still the successor state of East Pakistan, it had to fulfil its duty in absorbing these refugees just as the erstwhile West Pakistan did with the many millions of refugees (incidentally, including some Bengalis) who fled to West Pakistan. Some groups in Pakistan have urged the Pakistan government to accept the Biharis, which is also a key talking point of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.<ref>[http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=75378&d=28&m=12&y=2005&pix=world.jpg&category=World PRC Wants Urgent Steps for Biharis’ Repatriation - Arab News]</ref><ref>[https://www.dawn.com/news/391750/mqm-demands-issuance-of-cnics-to-biharis MQM demands issuance of CNICs to Biharis-2004 : Dawn]</ref>

In an agreement in 1974, Pakistan accepted 170,000 Bihari refugees; however, the repatriation process subsequently stalled.<ref>[http://www.safhr.org/refugee_watch18_4.htm Bangladesh State and the Refugee Phenomenon : South Asian forum for Human Rights - The Bihari Refugees]</ref>

Post-independence Bangladesh scorned the Biharis for supporting the Pakistan Army. With neither country offering citizenship, the Biharis were stateless. Organisations like Refugees International urged the governments of Pakistan and Bangladesh to "grant citizenship to the hundreds of thousands of people who remain without effective nationality".<ref>[http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/publication/detail/7828/ Citizens of Nowhere: The Stateless Biharis of Bangladesh - Refugees International 2006 report] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614045741/http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/publication/detail/7828/ |date=14 June 2007 }}</ref>

In 2006, a report estimated between 240,000 and 300,000 Biharis lived in 66 crowded camps in Dhaka and 13 other regions across Bangladesh.<ref>Refugees International (see below)</ref> In 2003, a case came before a high court in which ten Biharis were awarded citizenship according to the court's interpretation of the constitution. Subsequently, however, little progress was made in expanding that ruling to others. Many Pakistanis and international observers believe the plight of the Biharis has been politicised with political parties giving the refugees false hopes and impractical expectations. In recent years, several court rulings in Bangladesh have awarded citizenship to Biharis living in refugee camps, as the majority of these refugees were born there. International observers believe that Bangladesh, as the successor state needs to fulfil its international obligations and grant citizenship to this officially stateless ethnic group or arrange for the peaceful repatriation to their native state of Bihar, over the border in India from where they originally hail.

In a visit to Bangladesh in 2002, Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf said while he had every sympathy for the plight of thousands of people in Bangladesh known as 'stranded Pakistanis', he could not allow them to emigrate to Pakistan as Pakistan was in no position to absorb such a large number of refugees.<ref name="BBC2002">{{cite news |title=Musharraf wraps up Bangladesh visit |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2163374.stm |access-date=16 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040504181328/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2163374.stm |archive-date=4 May 2004 |date=31 July 2002 |url-status=live |quote=The president said while he had every sympathy for the plight of thousands of people in Bangladesh known as 'stranded Pakistanis', he could not allow them to emigrate to Pakistan. The president said he would do everything possible to resolve the issue, but at the moment, Pakistan is still struggling to accommodate thousands of Afghan refugees.}}</ref> He encouraged his Bengali counterpart not to politicise the issue and accept the refugees as citizens being the successor state of East Pakistan. Pakistani government officials have threatened to deport the more than 1.5 million illegal Bengali refugees living in its country if the issue is not resolved acceptably.<ref name="BBC2002" />

In May 2003, a High Court ruling in Bangladesh allowed ten Biharis to obtain citizenship and voting rights;<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3003949.stm Vote for 'stranded Pakistanis' - BBC News 6 May 2003]</ref> the ruling also exposed a generation gap amongst Biharis, with younger Biharis tending to be "elated" with the ruling but with many older people "despair[ing] at the enthusiasm" of the younger generation.<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2941974.stm Mixed feelings over Bihari ruling - BBC News 28 May 2003]</ref> Many Biharis now seek greater civil rights and citizenship in Bangladesh.<ref>[http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/article/detail/8245 Bangladesh: Stateless Biharis Grasp for a Resolution and Their Rights -Refugees International] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070321134045/http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/article/detail/8245 |date=21 March 2007 }}</ref>

== In popular culture == * ''Of Martyrs and Marigolds'', a novel by Aquila Ismail, highlights the atrocities committed by Bengali nationalists against Biharis during the Bangladesh Liberation War.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Zehra |first1=Batool |title=The other side of history |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/340653/the-other-side-of-history/ |newspaper=The Express Tribune |date=26 February 2012 |access-date=30 December 2015}}</ref> * In 2007, prominent Bangladeshi filmmaker Tanvir Mokammel made a documentary film titled ''The Promised Land''.<ref>{{cite news |title="The Promised Land": Tanvir Mokammel's moving documentary on Biharis |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-13583 |access-date=29 April 2019 |work=The Daily Star |date=30 November 2007}}</ref> The film highlights the current stateless status of Biharis and their despair of not being able to settle in Pakistan, which they see as a betrayal of the Pakistani government.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Swapnabhumi |url=https://www.idfa.nl/industry/tags/project.aspx?id=eeca2322-0efb-435c-9797-ccfb24898de2 |website=The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam |access-date=17 December 2015}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.statelesspeopleinbangladesh.net/home.php Stateless people In Bangladesh] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E0FUhDReQo The Forgotten People: Bihari Refugees of Bangladesh, UCANews] * [https://www.shabdankan.com/2022/05/hindi-story-on-stranded-pakistanis-by-madhu-kankaria.html Hindi Story on Stranded Pakistanis by Madhu Kankaria, Shabdankan]

* * Category:Aftermath of the Bangladesh Liberation War Category:Bangladeshi Biharis Category:Ethnic groups in Bangladesh Category:Muhajir communities Category:Muhajir history Category:Pakistani diaspora in Asia Pakistanis in Bangladesh Category:Bangladesh–Pakistan relations