Why does Bangladesh consider the 'apology' sought by Pakistan in the past to be insufficient?

 

 

Why does Bangladesh consider the 'apology' sought by Pakistan in the past to be insufficient?

 

  During the visit of Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to Dhaka, demands for an apology for the 1971 events have once again emerged.

Leaders of various political parties, including Foreign Affairs Advisor to the interim government in Bangladesh, Tohid Hussain, have demanded that Pakistan apologize for the 1971 events and resolve the outstanding issues of fair distribution of resources at the time of independence.

In a statement, the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry said that during the meeting with Ishaq Dar, issues such as ‘formal apology for the genocide committed by Pakistan in 1971, distribution of assets, transfer of foreign aid earmarked for the victims of the 1970 cyclone’ were also discussed.

Speaking to the media on this demand, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that the issue of apology between Pakistan and Bangladesh has been resolved on two occasions.

He said that former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1974 and then President General Pervez Musharraf in 2002 had resolved the issue during their visits to Banglades

Ishaq Dar said, “I think after this matter is settled between brothers, Islam also commands us to keep our hearts clean. So we should move forward and work together because our future is bright.” 

However, in response to a question asked during a press conference in this regard, Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Tohid Hussain said, “I certainly do not agree with him (Ishaq Dar 

Did Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Pervez Musharraf really apologize?

An Islamic summit was to be held in Lahore in February 1974, for which the heads of all Islamic countries of the world were invited.

Pakistan had not recognized Bangladesh till then. However, when the then Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto invited Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to attend the conference, Bangladesh was recognized as a separate state before that. But despite Bangladesh's demand, it did not apologize for the events of 71.

Later, Bangladesh threatened to prosecute 195 Pakistanis who were taken prisoner of war during the 1971 war for involvement in war crimes. And in exchange for withdrawing this decision, Bangladesh reiterated its demand for an apology for the alleged genocide and illegal acts committed by the Pakistani army.

Finally, in April 1974, an agreement was reached between the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.

In the agreement, Pakistan wrote that ‘if war crimes have been committed in East Pakistan, the government of Pakistan condemns it and expresses regret over it.’

The agreement said that ‘Prime Minister Bhutto appeals to the people of Bangladesh to forgive the mistakes and forget the past and move forward.’

After this, in 2002, the then President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, visited Bangladesh and expressed regret again.

However, despite repeated requests from Bangladesh for a share in the state property of undivided Pakistan, no Pakistani government has paid attention to the issue.

Even in 1974, the then Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, could not reach a consensus despite repeated meetings with Mr. Bhutto on the issues.

Why does Bangladesh consider ‘apology’ insufficient?

Despite ‘apology’ from Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Pervez Musharraf, why is it that Bangladesh keeps repeating the demand for an apology?

To find out the answer to this question,  to some personalities from Pakistan and Bangladesh in the past., senior Bangladeshi historian Afsan Chowdhury said that it is believed in Bangladesh that the agreement (tripartite) was actually between Pakistan and India because they wanted to get out of that situation and Bangladesh had to join this agreement.

"The New York Times report at the time called it a compromise and a 'way to save face'. This is not satisfactory for the people of Bangladesh. Even after more than fifty years, it is still a big problem. I do not think that the apology that was sought at that time is of any use now. Although even then the public criticized it strongly whether it was really an apology or not." Ashraf Qureshi, who was posted as Pakistan's High Commissioner in Dhaka, had previously told the BBC that he had been referring to the 1974 agreement during his service in Dhaka. He says that during these discussions in the context of the return of the prisoners, the agreement clearly states that the prime minister has promised to visit Bangladesh and has requested the people of Bangladesh to forgive the past. According to Ashraf Qureshi, ‘The Bangladeshi Foreign Minister signed this agreement and wrote that the Bangladeshi Prime Minister also gave a message to the people and said that the people of Bangladesh know how to forgive and as a clemency, Bangladesh will send back 195 prisoners.’

 ‘The people of both countries have nothing to do with the events of 71’

Ishaq Dar’s visit to Bangladesh and the demands for an apology for the events of 1971 are also being discussed on social media.

A user named Taseen Mehdi writes that until Pakistan clearly apologizes for the events of 1971, no Bangladeshi government should normalize relations with it.

A user named Mohammad Irshad writes on the Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry’s demand for an apology for the 1971 events that ‘this is the only issue that is hindering the relations between the two countries.’

A user named ‘All Sees’ writes that both countries should apologize to each other publicly. He says that the people of both countries have nothing to do with the 1971 events and they like each other.         

Another user advised the Pakistani government that ‘there is no pro-India government in Bangladesh at the moment. So this is a good opportunity for Pakistan to move forward and resolve this issue.’