Stranded Pakistani

Stranded Pakistani

Stranded Pakistanis (Urdu: پھنسے ہوئے پاکستانی‎, Bengali: তন্তুবিশিষ্ট পাকিস্তানীরা), sometimes also referred to as Biharis, are the ethnic Muslims from North and Northwestern parts of the Indian Subcontinent, currently residing in Bangladesh. They migrated to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) at the time of the Partition of India to join the Muslim state of Pakistan. They spoke Urdu, which became the official language of Pakistan, but put them at odds with the Bengali-majority in the region.

Not sharing the ethno-linguistic heritage of the Bengali people, who formed an overwhelming majority in the eastern wing, they opposed its agitation for independence from West Pakistan. They opposed Bangladesh Liberation War, and their support for the Pakistani army and participation in pro-Pakistani militias, such as the Razakars, Al-Badr and Al-Shams, led to considerable hostility and retaliation from the Bengalis, and became stranded after the independence of Bangladesh and were relocated to refugee camps, where their descendants have been born. They have since appealed the Pakistani government for the right to settle in Pakistan. Their petition has only met with marginal support from the Pakistani authorities, who have allowed only a small number of the "Stranded Pakistanis" to settle in Pakistan.

In 2003 a Bangladesh high court ruled that 10 Biharis were entitled to citizenship and voting rights. In 2008 the High Court in Dhakar ruled that 150,000 Biharis, who were minors at the time of the war, could be given citizenship in Bangladesh and voting rights. This is also to be extended to those Bihari born since the war, giving them a path to citizenship rights in Bangladesh at last.