In New Bonomi with Pakistan, Bangladesh asks for a reset with an apology

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In 1971, during the struggle for the liberation of East Pakistan, the Pakistani Army was responsible for widespread atrocities in the present Bangladesh, including violence of civilians and human rights. These incidents came out with a little accountability, and Bangladesh has not yet received an official apology. With significant support from India, Bangladesh gained independence and emerged from the shadow of military harassment. After more than five decades, Dhaka is chasing close ties with Pakistan with riders.

Muhammad Yunus, the chief advisor to the interim government of Bangladesh, has called for a “strong relationship with Pakistan” after a meeting with Pakistani Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch. Baloch held meetings with his Bangladeshi counterpart, MD Jashim Udin as part of the Foreign Office Counseling (FOC) between the two countries, which was the first in 15 years. Amna Baloch’s visit arrives a few days before the visit of Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on 27 and 28 April.

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“Chief Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus on Thursday insisted on strengthening relations with Pakistan to promote mutual cooperation and find out business and commercial capacity. The Chief Advisor called when Pakistani Foreign Secretary Amana Baloch called him to the state guest house Jamuna,” Bangladesh said in a statement.

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The Chief Advisor told Baloch, “There are some obstacles. We have to find ways to overcome and move forward.”

Those obstacles include accountability and forgiveness for large -scale murders during the 1971 liberation conflict, and paying the outstanding amount to Bangladesh is about 4.5 billion dollars. Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Jashim Udin told reporters, “We have historically raised unresolved issues with Pakistan.” He said that issues include “repatriation of trapped Pakistanis, justice of undivided distribution of undivided assets, transfer of foreign aid funds sent to the victims of the 1970s, and a formal public waiver for the massacre by the then Pakistani Army in 1971”.

Pakistan has not made any commitment to address these demands, but relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan are improving and Pakistan is working to return to a big role in Bangladesh.

In recent times, Bangladesh has been considered away from India and bending towards a strong relationship with China and Pakistan. Yunus’s remarks on India’s Northeast led a strong denial, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a strong message to the Chief Advisor. The Prime Minister along with the Bangladeshi leader raised India’s concerns about the safety of minorities in the neighboring country. He advised Dhaka that to avoid “the rhetoric that fails the environment”, the Northeast attracted strong reactions from Indian leaders after Mr. Yunus’ comments. During a visit to China, MD Younus said: “Seven states of India, the eastern part of India, are called seven sisters. They are a landlock region of India. They have no way to reach the sea.” He said that Bangladesh is a “patron of the ocean” for the region. “This opens a large possibility. It can be an expansion to the Chinese economy,” he said, making a pitch for China to increase its appearance in the region.

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Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Jashim Udin, however, hit a more alert tone, describing the diplomatic inclination of Bangladesh. Asked if Dhaka was now moving towards Islamabad compared to its first alleged inclination towards New Delhi, Jashim Uddin said that Bangladesh intended to have a relationship with Pakistan on the basis of “mutual honor” and “mutual gains”, and it was not to align with a particular country.