Ahmed

BACKGROUND

I. Factual Background

Petitioner Ahmed is a forty-eight-year-old native of Ban- gladesh. He is a Bihari, born in East Pakistan before it became Bangladesh. The Biharis sided with Pakistan against East Pakistan in the War of Independence in 1971. The Biharis consider themselves to be citizens of Pakistan and they hope to someday return to Pakistan. Biharis speak Urdu, the lan- guage of Pakistan, rather than Bengali, the language of Ban- gladesh. Pakistan has admitted only a few thousand Biharis — the remainder, approximately 250,000, live in Bangladesh.

After the Biharis’ refusal to accept Bengali citizenship, the Bengali government removed them from their homes, confis- cated their property and businesses, and relocated them to squalid, overcrowded resettlement camps. Ahmed testified that Biharis are virtual prisoners inside these camps; there is not enough food to sustain them, they are not allowed to work, and they do not have the right to travel within the coun- try. Following the War of Independence, Ahmed lived in two settlement camps before coming to this country. From 1972 to 1984, Ahmed lived in Kalishpur Camp. From 1984 to 1994, Ahmed lived in Geneva…