DHAKA, March 30, 2021 (BSS) – A former Pakistani diplomat today called upon his country’s people to make a demand to their government to seek a formal apology to Bangladesh for all the atrocities committed by the Pakistani military in Liberation War in 1971.
“I think the people of Pakistan should urge their
government to offer a formal apology to the people of Bangladesh for all the atrocities committed by the Pakistani military in 1971,” said Husain Haqqani, who served as the Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States from 2008 to 2011.
The internationally renowned scholar from Pakistan, now living in the USA, made these remarks in a virtual talk on ‘‘Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman: An Iconic Leader of People’s Struggle for Freedom’’.
“To this day, no apology has been forthcoming … an apology is the most courteous thing,” Haqqani said.
The event was organized jointly by the Embassy of Bangladesh to Belgium and Luxembourg, and Mission to the European Union in Brussels on March 29, according to press release received here today.
Haqqani, currently a Senior Fellow and Director for South and Central Asia at Hudson Institute, a top think tank in Washington, D.C., said that Bangabandhu is not only the greatest Bengali of all time, also a great leader in the history of the world.
“He (Bangabandhu) is one of the greatest leaders emerging out of South Asia and a great leader in the history of the world, and an iconic figure of struggle for freedom that the world has seen throughout the 20th century,” he said.
The ex-Pakistani envoy said that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is in the same league of great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela.
Foreign Minister Dr. A K Abdul Momen joined the talk virtually as the chief guest, while Bangladesh Ambassador in Brussels Mahbub Hassan Saleh moderated it.
Momen said it was expected that for the genocide committed by its military in 1971, Pakistan would apologize formally on the occasion of the the 50th Anniversary of Independence of Bangladesh this year.
Though the Pakistan prime minister sent a message at the last minute on the occasion, but unfortunately he did not apologize for the genocide committed by Pakistan military on the unarmed Bengali civilians of Bangladesh in 1971, he added.