Will Pakistan follow suit?

Anis Alamgir
Bangladesh is still waiting for a formal apology from Pakistan for its atrocities committed in Bangladesh in 1971.
“We have been raising the issue with Pakistan on different occasions but so far no formal expression of apology has been made”, said a top foreign ministry official yesterday when his attention was drawn to Japan’s apology for its war crimes of the 20th century on Tuesday.
However, during their visit to Bangladesh as heads of governments former prime minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif and former President Pervez Musharraf regretted for the role of Pakistan in 1971. But Bangladesh did not consider it as an apology of Pakistan and has been raising the issue on different occasions.
The top foreign ministry official said, Bangladesh wants an apology from Pakistan in line with the tripartite agreement between India, Bangladesh and Pakistan signed in April 9, 1974 in New Delhi. In the agreement, it was mentioned how Pakistan could go ahead with the issue for normalisation of relations in the sub-continent.
Article 13 and 14 of the 16-point agreement had given detailed guideline of Pakistan’s way of tendering apology and Bangladesh’s action in response to it. Dr Kamal Hossain, Minister of Foreign Affairs, government of Bangladesh, Swaran Singh, Minister of External Affairs, government of India and Aziz Ahmed, Minister of State for Defence and Foreign Affairs, government of Pakistan had signed the agreement on behalf of their governments.
The article 13 said: “The question of 195 Pakistani prisoners of war was discussed by the three Ministers, in the context of the earnest desire of the governments for reconciliation, peace and friendship in the sub-continent. The Foreign Minister of Bangladesh stated that the excesses and manifold crimes committed by these prisoners of war constituted, according to the relevant provisions of the U.N. General Assembly Resolutions and International Law, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, and that there was universal consensus that persons charged with such crimes as the 195 Pakistani prisoners of war should be held to account and subjected to the due process of law. The Minister of State for Defence and Foreign Affairs of the Government of Pakistan said that his Government condemned and deeply regretted any crimes that may have been committed. “
Continuing, article 14 said: “In this connection, the three Ministers noted that the matter should be viewed in the context of the determination of the three countries to continue resolutely to work for reconciliation. The Ministers further noted that following recognition, the Prime Minister of Pakistan had declared that he would visit Bangladesh in response to the invitation of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and appeal to the people of Bangladesh to forgive and forget the mistakes of the past, in order to promote reconciliation. Similarly, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh had declared with regard to the atrocities and destruction committed in Bangladesh in 1971 that he wanted the people to forget the past and to make a fresh start, stating that the people of Bangladesh knew how to forgive.”
However, in accordance with article 14, Pakistan had not done anything, though even just after the agreement Pakistan’s Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto visited Bangladesh for a while. On different times, Pakistani diplomats posted in Bangladesh also tried to establish that Pakistan’s apologised to Bangladesh citing this agreement, which Dhaka was never ready to accept.
In fact, Bangladesh did not get the chance to act in accordance with the agreement to show Pakistan that ‘the people of Bangladesh knew how to forgive’ as per the wish of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
the independent
11-08-10