For the first time in 51 years since Bangladesh's independence, several hundred stranded Pakistanis on Sunday brought out a procession in the capital's Mirpur area on the occasion of Victory Day.
They took part in the procession that began from Mirpuir-11 and then toured through Mirpur-10, Mirpur-13 and Kalshi areas in the afternoon.
Participants told Bangla Tribune that they were born in Bangladesh but are still being treated as Pakistanis. They said they were ashamed of what the Pakistani forces did to innocent Bangladeshis five decades ago.
The procession under the banner “Welfare Mission of Biharis in Bangladesh” was an attempt to get some respect in life for thousands of stranded Pakistanis living in different areas of Bangladesh, said its President Mostak Ahmed.
He said that most of the participants were born after liberation, and they were desperate to prove that they belonged to Bangladesh and not Pakistan.
“We were given national identity cards in 2008. Many still mistake us for Pakistanis, for which our rehabilitation procedure is being delayed,” he added.
Regarding the procession marking Victory Day this year, Mostak said that despite planning to hold such rallies in previous years, they could not do so due to the lack of support and funds.
This year, Mostak said, he had put in a lot of effort in gaining support from fellow stranded Pakistanis.
Bringing up the issue of Bangladesh sheltering over one million Rohingyas, he said that there were 400,000 stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh living in inhumane conditions.
“The prime minister in 2014 had instructed the Ministry of Housing and Public Works to arrange housing for us. The issue is still pending,” he added.
Others joining the procession complained that they were residing in poor living conditions in the camps at Mirpur and Mohammadpur, and urged the government to rehabilitate them so that they could live just like other Bangladeshis.
On March 6, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the government had plans to provide a better life for the stranded Biharis on humanitarian grounds, although they had opted for Pakistani citizenship after Bangladesh's independence.
“We want to see a human being as a human being. Maybe they did not want to live here, but where will they go? Their next generations took birth in this country. We have to do something for them,” she said while addressing a program.
The premier said not only in Dhaka, Biharis also live in various areas of the country. “They wanted to go to Pakistan and take Pakistani citizenship after the independence. But Pakistan never accepted them,” she recalled.