Sep 05, 2024 02:09 AM IST
Bangladesh aims to resolve 1971 war issues with Pakistan to enhance relations and promote democracy in South Asia, says interim IT minister Nahid Islam.
Bangladesh wants to resolve the issue of the 1971 war of liberation with Pakistan and strengthen relations between the two countries to ensure a democratic South Asia, Nahid Islam, the broadcasting and IT minister of the interim government, said during a meeting with the Pakistani envoy to Dhaka.
Ties between Bangladesh and Pakistan were at an all-time low during Hasina’s tenure, especially after she put several leaders of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami on charges of war crimes during the 1971 war.
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The comments by Islam, one the leaders of the students’ movement that toppled the regime of former premier Sheikh Hasina last month, came in the backdrop of a series of meetings between senior players in the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus and Pakistan’s high commissioner to Bangladesh, Syed Ahmed Maroof.
During the meeting with Islam on September 1, Maroof said Pakistan wants to “solve the question of 1971”, according to an official statement from Islam’s office. Maroof said the “previous government did not give us any opportunity to discuss [this matter] and kept the 1971 issue alive”. He added it could have been resolved long ago, and that Pakistan is interested in establishing relations with Bangladesh.
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According to the official readout, Islam said in response that 1971 is “an important issue in the political history of Bangladesh”. He added, “According to the Awami League, 1971 was the ‘last chapter of history’. But we think this is a continuation of history,” Islam said, according to the readout.
The liberation war of 1971 marked Bangladesh’s struggle to break away from the oppressive regime in erstwhile West Pakistani, and the Pakistani military was accused of widespread atrocities that, according to some accounts, resulted in around three million deaths.
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Bangladesh has long sought an apology from Pakistan for these actions and pushed for international recognition of the genocide. Despite the ups and downs in relations over the past 53 years, no resolution has been worked out to this issue.
Noting that Bangladesh wouldn’t have been established without the events of 1947 – when the British left India and the country was partitioned – or the Pakistan movement, Islam said: “We want to resolve the issue of 1971 with Pakistan. A democratic South Asia requires us to strengthen our relationship with each other.”
Bangladesh is interested in maintaining relations with any country while upholding its independence, sovereignty and national interests, Islam said. “We are interested in resolving the issues of 1971 in the national interest and developing relations,” he added.
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Hasina stepped down and fled to India on August 5 and the interim government took power three days later. Diplomats of countries, including Pakistan, have been meeting the leaders of the interim government to strengthen relations with Bangladesh.
During his meeting with Islam, Maroof alleged that for the past 15 years, Pakistanis were harassed in various ways for political reasons, especially in issuing visas and at the airport. He drew Islam’s attention to these problems.
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