Friday, April 18, 2025
Dhaka Demands An Apology From Islamabad For 1971 Genocide
By Nava Thakuria, New Age Islam
18 April 2025
Something amazing happens in Bangladesh as the current caretaker government dared to ask an apology from Islamabad for the genocide engineered by the unruly Pakistani armed forces during the 1917 Muktijuddha (liberation movement). An apology from Pakistan was insisted by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina till she was ousted by a student-led public uprising in July-August last year which finally compelled her to leave the country and take a temporary shelter in India till date. Always standing against Hasina, the interim government in Dhaka has somehow echoed a similar sentiment to the daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the independence hero of Bangladesh.
The stage was set for a foreign secretary-level meeting in Dhaka on 17 April, where the Bangladesh delegation raised the issue in front of the visiting Pakistan counterpart. The Foreign Office Consultation (FOC), held after 15 years, also witnessed a series of issues placed by the host team led by Bangladesh foreign secretary Md Jashim Uddin. The Pakistani delegation led by its foreign secretary Amna Baloch reportedly insisted on continuing engagements in talks. Bangladesh also demanded a financial compensation of USD 4.32 billion from Pakistan as a share from the combined assets of the undivided Islamic Republic of Pakistan before it was born in 1971.
Mentionable is that Bangladesh claims around 30 lakh million people were killed and more than two lakh Bengali women were raped by the Pakistani troops during the 1971 movement. Soon after the Indian armed forces supported the Muktijoddhas and the Pakistani forces officially surrendered marking the victory of Mukti Bahini. Dhaka also pushed for repatriating nearly three lakh Pakistani citizens (who refused to take Bangladeshi citizenship and are still stranded in Bangladesh) to their home country. The delegation also demanded a share of foreign aid funds (around USD 200 million, which was generated for the victims of the 1970 Bhola tropical cyclone that killed over five lakh people in the then East Pakistan).
However, Dhaka’s inclination to Islamabad has not diminished as it’s expecting Pakistan’s deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar (also in charge of Pak foreign ministry) to visit Bangladesh on 27, 28 April (first by a Pakistani foreign minister since 2012). The visiting Pakistani bureaucrat also met with the interim government chief Professor Muhammad Yunus where they agreed to resolve many hurdles between the two nations with an aim to boost mutual cooperation and explore trade & business potentials. Earlier, a delegation of Pakistan chambers of commerce & industry visited Bangladesh and signed a memorandum of understanding with the host counterpart in January 2025.
Often demonized by the majority of Indian media outlets, Prof Yunus has lately found another reason to celebrate as the octogenarian microfinance pioneer was featured in the list of 100 Most Influential People by TIME magazine. The American news weekly has included his name in current the list under the Leaders category along with US President Donald Trump, US vice-president JD Vance, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, Indian-Origin CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Reshma Kewalramani (however no Indian figured in the entire list of dominant personalities this year), etc. The New York-based magazine also reported that Prof Yunus was the oldest one among the awardees of 2025.
Sitting on a huge expectation from the common Bangladeshi nationals and galvanizing the national aspiration amid all difficulties, the lone Nobel laureate of India’s immediate neighbour made his presence felt by conveying the message that he wants a new Bangladesh with equal opportunity to every citizen irrespective of one’s religious faith or ethnicity. A ruined economy, disorganized various government departments & agencies and lack of goodwill & trust among the people greeted Prof Yunus to the office of power. The soft spoken banker turned political head diligently conveyed his determination to grow Bangladesh as an important player in south & southeast Asian politics.
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/current-affairs/dhaka-apology-islamabad-1971-genocide/d/135211
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