DHAKA, Sept 5: The government of Bangladesh has decided to enrol in the voters’ list some 150,000 Urdu-speaking people, known as stranded Pakistanis, who were born after the country’s independence in 1971 and have sworn allegiance to Bangladesh.

They are also likely to get the citizenship soon.

The decision taken at a high-level inter-ministerial meeting held at the home ministry on Wednesday has been referred to the law ministry.

“If there is no legal complication, the law ministry will soon approve the decision,” said a senior official of the home ministry.

He said the Urdu-speaking people who did not recognise the independence of Bangladesh and had sworn allegiance to Pakistan would not be considered for citizenship or registration as voters.

The meeting was convened after the Chief Election Commissioner, A.T.M. Shamsul Huda, requested the chief adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed, on June 29 to urgently settle the issue of around 300,000 stranded Pakistanis living in 116 camps since 1972.

The camps were set up by the International Committee of Red Cross in different parts of the country.

The meeting categorised the Urdu-speaking people living in Bangladesh into three groups — pre-1971, post-1971, and those who do not accept Bangladesh and want to go back to Pakistan at any cost.

“We will not consider the last group,” said the home ministry official, adding that those who were below 18 years would also be given citizenship.

Many believe that the number of Urdu-speaking people would be more than the official figure. A good number of them, living outside the camps, have already become citizens and voters.