What is more thrilling than a blockbuster thriller is life itself. Just when I had resigned myself to imagining that the plight of stranded Pakistanis would remain masked under selective memory and political convenience, the news arrived as a surprise: the Sindh Assembly session on December 16, 2025 included a resolution moved by MQM-P lawmaker Engineer Ejaz-ul-Haq to pay tribute to the civilian martyrs of the 1971 East Pakistan tragedy, including members of the Bihari community and other stranded Pakistanis, who sacrificed their lives for Pakistan and supported the Pakistan military.

During the discussion, MPA Ejaz ul Haq highlighted the necessity to officially admit the martyrs and sacrifices of this community. Some accounts suggest that parts of his speech were later not reflected in the official record, after concerns were raised by an honourable member of the PPP that it might appear to credit only one community. While these reports have circulated on social media and through anecdotal accounts, no mainstream news outlet has confirmed any formal expungement.

Contextually, the resolution brought attention to the plight of the "stranded Pakistanis" (a vast majority of these Muslims are of Bihari origin) who faced ferocious persecution and continued statelessness after the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. Their persisting genocide, however, to date remains unacknowledged and largely dismissed by academics, feminist scholars and liberal human rights activists.

The resolution marks the first time a provincial legislature in Pakistan has formally admitted this long-ignored issue. The moment deserves appreciation. At a time of polarised politics, such a........

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