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Stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh
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<p>Stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh are <a href="/facts/East_Pakistan/muonRHJH">East Pakistani</a> <a href="/facts/Urdu-speaking_people/QgVb2Gqc">Urdu-speaking</a> <a href="/facts/Muhajir_(Pakistan)/hTIq9uBR">Muhajirs</a> who emigrated from present-day India (then part of <a href="/facts/British_India/qdbjMfvI">British India</a>), and settled in East Pakistan (now <a href="/facts/Bangladesh/NXk4f78Y">Bangladesh</a>) following the <a href="/facts/Partition_of_India/c8xmUWfG">partition of India</a> in 1947. </p><p>This identification can encompass several groups of people. The first among them are <a href="/facts/Bihari_Muslims/Ttvmq1ta">Bihari Muslims</a>. Although, most of this population belonged to the <a href="/facts/Bihar_Province/NeHDmWWK">Bihar Province</a> of British India, there are many from other Indian states such as <a href="/facts/West_Bengal/0B5bxvbW">West Bengal</a>, <a href="/facts/Madhya_Pradesh/h8GnUBv6">Madhya Pradesh</a>, <a href="/facts/Andhra_Pradesh/d51Lb0kX">Andhra Pradesh</a> and U.P. (United Provinces). There are still others, who had settled in what is now known as Bangladesh in the late 19th century. The second term of reference for this group coined by themselves after the creation of Bangladesh is "Stranded Pakistanis". In Urdu media in Pakistan and elsewhere this was translated as "Mehsooreen" (محصورین) or the "Besieged". </p><p>Biharis who were minors in 1971 when Bangladesh became independent, or born later, were <a href="/facts/Statelessness/2chWIMoh">stateless</a> until 2008 when a judgement by the <a href="/facts/High_Court_Division/VXCVruXW">Dhaka High Court</a> gave them right to Bangladeshi citizenship. The judgment does not cover refugees who were adults at the time of <a href="/facts/Bangladesh_Liberation_War/gTshjg0R">Bangladesh Liberation War</a>. In March 2015, the <a href="/facts/Ministry_of_Foreign_Affairs_(Pakistan)/SDzMCFBz">Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan</a> 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. </p>