1971 Genocide: Pakistan should offer apology to Bangladesh

A former Pakistani diplomat has said the people of Pakistan should urge their government to offer a formal apology to the people of Bangladesh for the genocide its military committed in 1971.

Hussain Haqqani, who served as Pakistan's ambassador to the United States from 2008 to 2011, made the remarks during a virtual talk titled "Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman: An Iconic Leader of People's Struggle for Freedom".

The talk was organised by the Bangladesh Embassy in Belgium and Luxembourg, and Mission to the European Union in Brussels on 29 March, according to a statement of the Bangladesh embassy in Brussels.

"The military's reaction in the form of imprisoning Sheikh Mujib and initiating Genocide against the Bengalis ... To this day, no apology has been forthcoming and I think the people of Pakistan should urge the government of Pakistan to offer a formal apology to the people of Bangladesh for all the atrocities that were committed in 1971 ... an apology is the most courteous thing ..." said Haqqani, now a senior fellow and director for South and Central Asia at Hudson Institute.

He said Bangabandhu is not only the greatest Bangalee of all time, but an iconic figure of struggle for freedom that the world has seen.

The envoy said Bangabandhu is in the same league of great leaders as Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela.

Bangabandhu had created the sense of freedom among the Bengali nation during his long struggle for independence and gave all the directives to his people to prepare for a war in his historic speech on March 7, 1971, in Dhaka, Haqqani said.

He added that the then East Pakistan was the "Golden Goose" to the Pakistani ruling elites as most of the foreign exchange was earned from the eastern part.

Haqqani said now Bangladesh is one of the fastest growing countries in the world and the most successful country in South Asia -- the contribution of Bangabandhu and his daughter, current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, who addressed the event as the chief guest, said it was expected that Pakistan would apologise formally on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh's independence.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan sent a video message on the occasion but did not apologise.