No official apology, Pakistan claims '71 genocide issue settled twice

DHAKA: Pakistan on Sunday claimed it had twice settled the issue of the 1971 Liberation War genocide committed by the Pakistan army in which more than a million civilians were butchered.

Visiting foreign minister of Pakistan, Ishaq Dar said the massacre of Bangla-speaking people in what then was eastern Pakistan and rapes of lakhs of women was settled twice in 1974 and early 2000s.

The assertion generated shock because there is no evidence of Pakistan officially apologising for the crimes committed by its army, and was seen as an evidence of its resolve to achieve normalisation of ties on its own terms.

Significantly, the Bangladesh interim govt did not specifically address Dar's claim, limiting itself to saying "we have agreed" to resolve the issue in the course of time." There was no indication it was still insisting on an official apology which for decades was set as the minimum pre-requisite for starting the process of reconciliation. For Bangladesh, the other issues of concern are return of assets Pakistan seized after Bangladesh became an independent country, repatriation of stranded Pakistanis, and transfer of foreign aid meant for the 1970 cyclone victims.

"On the matter of unresolved issues, what I want to say is that the first settlement took place in 1974," said Dar, who arrived in Dhaka on Saturday for a visit aimed at rebuilding ties with Bangladesh following the ouster of PM Sheikh Hasina, whose father led the struggle for independence and who was a hardliner on the issue of official apology. "General Pervez Musharraf came here and resolved the issue openly. As a result, the issue was resolved twice. Once in 1974, and again in the early 2000s," he said.

Bangladesh foreign affairs adviser Md Touhid Hossain said all "unresolved" issues were raised with Dar. "We have agreed to resolve them to advance our bilateral relations further," Touhid told reporters after meeting Dar, who is the most senior leader from his country to visit Dhaka since 2012, after then Pakistan foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar. "The issues accumulated over 54 years cannot be solved overnight. But we have agreed to address them over the due course of time," he added.

Dar said Pakistan will provide advanced medical treatment, including limb replacement for 40 individuals, including students, injured during the "July Uprising" - the movement that led to Awami League govt's ouster last year.

He also called on chief adviser Muhammad Yunus and their discussion covered revival of old connections between the two countries, promoting youth linkages, enhancing connectivity, and augmenting trade and economic cooperation, according to Pakistan's ministry of foreign affairs.

Bangladesh foreign affairs ministry said, "The meeting took place in a spirit of warmth and goodwill, reflecting the brotherly relations between the countries and their shared desire to augmenting engagement and cooperation."


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