Five decades after Bangladesh’s victory in 1971, it is overdue to apologize to Islamabad for the events of this period
December 16, “Bijoy Dibosh”, is celebrated in Bangladesh as the day when General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, the then Chief of the Armed Forces of Pakistan, surrendered along with 93,000 forces to the United Forces led by Bangladeshi independence. . The fighters, popularly known as “Mukti Bahini” and the Indian Armed Forces. Systemic ignorance and disrespect for the civil and political rights of the Bengali population of erstwhile East Pakistan in West Pakistan led to mass protests in March 1971 which eventually ended in a brutal conflict. Over 3 million Bangladeshis lost their lives and thousands of women were attacked. As Bangladesh celebrates 50 years of its historic victory, it is worth seeing precisely why Pakistan’s leadership has so far been hesitant to offer a formal apology to the victims and what this means for the future of Bangladesh-Pakistan relations. Is.
broken promises
The humiliating nature of the defeat left strong feelings within Pakistan’s military establishment, reflected in the increase in the country’s defense budget – from $635 million to more than $1 billion by the late 1970s. According to the Hamudur Rehman (former Chief Justice of Pakistan) commission report from July 1972, despite being fully aware of the scale of the atrocities committed to the then leader of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan carefully prepared during the tripartite The “forgive and forget” narrative that has been put forward. Agreement in 1974. It was the first instance Islamabad came close to admitting excesses committed by “some” of its armed forces and promising to hold them accountable in war crimes tribunals, which led to Bangladesh handing over hundreds of war prisoners as a conciliation measure. Gave. , Five decades later, however, no one has been arrested.
During the state visit of former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to Bangladesh in 2002, he collectively expressed regret for the death while visiting the National War Memorial in 1971, but missed the formal apology that Bangladesh has been seeking. Despite acknowledging a sensitivity to official state propaganda that Bengali protesters of the 1970s were branded as “terrorists, extremists, insurgents, or Indian-backed fighters” in his autobiography from 2011, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has followed the official state narrative on the issue.
Pakistan has in recent years attempted to make clear its intention to strengthen diplomatic ties and economic ties with Bangladesh without making the necessary concerted efforts for reconciliation. Largely believed to be under the control of the armed forces, the narrative on Pakistan’s official position and the events of 1971 distances itself from case studies elsewhere. Notably when Pakistan’s Foreign Office rejected Bangladesh’s new demands in 2009 for an apology for the atrocities committed in 1971.
mindless move
In protest against Bangladesh’s independence, Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing, Islami Chatro Shanga, as well as individual groups such as Razakar, al-Badr and al-Shams were among the local organizations assisting Pakistan’s armed forces. were one. After coming to power in 2009, the current Bangladesh government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina prosecuted and in some cases executed senior leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami, which did not go down well with their counterparts in Pakistan’s political establishment. Was. Notably, in 2016, a resolution by the Parliament of Pakistan led by MP Sher Akbar Khan opposing the hanging of war criminals of 1971 drew sharp reactions and protests from Bangladesh. In 2015, Dhaka University cut ties with the Pakistani establishment in protest of the brutal murder of several prominent Bangladeshi intellectuals, academics and thinkers on December 14, 1971, days before the country formally won.
In May 2021, 113 years after Germany’s colonial government killed about 80,000 Herrero and Nama people in Namibia between 1904–08, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas acknowledged it as a “genocide” incident, apologized and 30 Offered $1.35 billion to spend on development projects over Rs. years.
Nazi war criminals accused of participating in the Holocaust are on trial and any attempt to deny is met with punishment. Pakistan’s efforts to whitewash its responsibility for 1971 have been criticized and Prime Minister Hasina shared with the Pakistani High Commissioner in Bangladesh how difficult it is for Bangladesh to forget the atrocities committed by Pakistan in the 1971 war.
country comparison
Bangladesh’s progress over the past 50 years has been remarkable in key performance indicators such as exports, social progress and fiscal prudence, all of which eclipse Pakistan’s growth during the same period. For example, the GDP growth of Bangladesh is 7.9% while that of Pakistan is 1.5%. Bangladesh’s GDP per capita grew by 9% in 2020 to $2,227, while Pakistan remains at $1,543. Bangladesh’s export volume and foreign exchange reserves are almost twice that of Pakistan as well as its position on the global passport index, microcredit financing and women’s rights.
In terms of literacy, Pakistan lags behind Bangladesh 75% with 58%. In 1971, Pakistan and Bangladesh remained neck and neck on fertility rates – seven births per woman. Today, according to the World Bank, Bangladesh has a fertility rate of 2.01 while Pakistan is at 3.45, reflecting the enormous progress made in the past.
Safety and security also remain a matter of concern. Pakistan has lost many civilians in terrorist attacks between 2000 and 2019. Concerns of terrorism, extremism and extremism are eroding Pakistan’s capability and credibility, making it unsafe to travel, and in many cases unattractive for trade and investment. Bangladesh, on the other hand, has been praised for its tough stand against any form of fundamentalism and fundamentalism and boasts of a liberal Muslim majority country with liberal and progressive socio-cultural values.
for a new chapter
It is an important first step for Pakistan to begin a new chapter in its relations with Bangladesh by burying its past, taking responsibility and ensuring accountability for the events of that period. The expression of hope and sincerity for reconciliation and friendship is hollow without any mention of 1971. Before one can begin to forget, one must be able to forgive. How can Bangladesh forget when Pakistan hasn’t even offered an apology to begin the healing process for a country that has seen millions of people die, thousands of attacks, and where so much blood and tears were shed in the process? This is a much-needed step to help both countries build better diplomatic and economic ties in the days to come, to heal historical wounds and realize a shared vision for the future of the region.
Syed Munir Khasroo is the President of the International Think Tank, The Institute for Policy, Advocacy and Governance (IPAG), New Delhi, India, with presence in Dhaka, Melbourne, Vienna and Dubai.