1971 genocide issue resolved long ago, says Pak foreign minister during Bangladesh visit

Dhaka: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has asserted that three unresolved matters between Islamabad and Dhaka, including the long-standing demand for an apology over the 1971 genocide, have been resolved twice in the past, local media reported on Sunday.

Dar, who is currently in Dhaka on a two-day official visit, marking the first state-level visit to Bangladesh in 13 years, made these remarks following a meeting with Foreign Affairs Advisor Towhid Hossain at Hotel Sonargaon on Sunday afternoon, according to leading Bangladeshi media outlet, Prothom Alo.

When questioned about discussions on the unresolved issues during the ministerial-level meeting, Dar responded, “The issue was settled for the first time in 1974. And the document of that time is historic for both countries. Then General Pervez Musharraf came here (to Bangladesh) and resolved the issue openly. As a result, the issue was resolved twice. Once in 1974, and again in the early 2000s.”

This comes at a time when experts believe that Dar’s two-day visit to Bangladesh exposes the sheer desperation of the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government to strengthen ties with a country that carried out a genocide killing millions of Bangladeshi Bengalis under ‘Operation Search Light’ in 1971.

“Despite the geographical distance and the historical overhang of atrocities committed by Pakistan during the 1971 India-Pakistan conflict, Dhaka and Islamabad have been busy repairing bilateral relations since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina in August 2024,” a report in Northeast News mentioned.

“While military and political alliances are increasing, Pakistan has yet to express remorse or apologise for the genocide of 1971. Instead, Pakistan-based media outlets are publishing articles calling for reclaiming Bangladesh as a revenge for Pakistan’s defeat in the 1971 war with India,” it added

Over three million people were killed, and more than 300,000 women were raped by the Pakistani Army during the 1971 genocide. Since the carnage, the people of Bangladesh have consistently demanded that Pakistan apologise for its barbarity.

On Saturday, shortly after his arrival, Dar held a series of political meetings. A six-member delegation of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) met the Pakistani Foreign Minister, while he also separately interacted with leaders of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) and the National Citizen Party (NCP).

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, NCP Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain said, “A meeting was held between a seven-member delegation from the NCP and Ishaq Dar…We tried to present the thoughts of the people of Bangladesh. There is an opportunity for improvement from the hostile relationship that existed before.”

Additionally, according to the BNP officials, Ishaq Dar is also scheduled to meet party chief Begum Khaleda Zia on Sunday evening. The meeting will be held at her Gulshan residence at 7:30 p.m.

The relations between Dhaka and Islamabad were at their lowest ebb during former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s rule, specifically when the Awami League government initiated in 2010 the trial of collaborators of Pakistani forces during the 1971 Liberation War.

The Awami League has condemned Dar’s visit, stating that “without recognition of genocide, normalisation is betrayal.”

Slamming Yunus, it said, “History cannot be rewritten. Justice cannot be bargained away.”

IANS