This is the second time in six months that the government of Pakistan has issued statements related to the trial of war criminals of 1971. The latest statement issued by the Pakistani Foreign Office over the dismissal of review plea against the death sentence on charges of crimes against humanity awarded by the international crimes tribunal to Nizami, the leader of the notorious Al Badr, under whose direct participation so many of our intellectuals were killed, is almost identical to the statement issued by Pakistani authorities in November 2015 when two other war criminals were executed.

Now that the review petition has been dismissed after due process of trial, we find to our astonishment and outrage that Pakistan is drumming the same tune again in trying to stir up unnecessary and unwarranted controversy over the legality of the judicial process in Bangladesh. Rooting for mass killers who collaborated with Pakistan army is deplorable. It is a disturbing fact that no government of Pakistan since our independence in 1971, when Bangladesh ceased to be part of that country, and has been a sovereign State for 45 years, has offered unconditional apology for the millions killed and hundreds of thousands of women raped during the nine months of its atrocity on the people of Bangladesh.

We find Pakistan's foreign ministry's statement utterly repugnant and hope that our government will take necessary diplomatic steps to counter the negative propaganda that the country is spearheading against Bangladesh. It is obvious that Pakistan's policymakers are stuck in a time warp and need to accept the truth. It is also time the government of Pakistan said Mea Culpa to the people of Bangladesh for the atrocities committed by its military, instead of meddling in our affairs.