Bangladesh ready to resolve ‘1971 issues with Pakistan’: Nahid Islam

Bangladesh is seeking to address the issue of the 1971 war of liberation with Pakistan and improve relations between the two countries to promote a democratic South Asia. Nahid Islam, the broadcasting and IT minister of the interim government, expressed this during a meeting with the Pakistani envoy to Dhaka.

During the tenure of Hasina, ties between Bangladesh and Pakistan reached an all-time low, especially after several leaders of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami were charged with war crimes during the 1971 war.

Nahid Islam, a leader of the students’ movement that ousted the former premier Sheikh Hasina’s regime last month, made these comments in light of a series of meetings between senior officials in the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus and Pakistan’s high commissioner to Bangladesh, Syed Ahmed Maroof.

According to an official statement from Islam’s office, Maroof mentioned during the meeting on September 1 that Pakistan wants to “address the question of 1971”. He stated that the “previous government did not allow us to discuss [this matter] and kept the 1971 issue alive”. He added that it could have been resolved long ago and that Pakistan is interested in establishing relations with Bangladesh.

In response, Islam stated that 1971 is “an important issue in the political history of Bangladesh”. He added, “According to the Awami League, 1971 was the ‘last chapter of history’. But we think this is a continuation of history,”

The liberation war of 1971 symbolized Bangladesh’s struggle to break away from the oppressive regime in erstwhile West Pakistan, and the Pakistani military was accused of widespread atrocities that, according to some accounts, resulted in around three million deaths.

Bangladesh has long sought an apology from Pakistan for these actions and pushed for international recognition of the genocide. Despite the ups and downs in relations over the past 53 years, no resolution has been worked out to this issue.

Noting that Bangladesh wouldn’t have been established without the events of 1947 – when the British left India and the country was partitioned – or the Pakistan movement, Islam said: “We want to resolve the issue of 1971 with Pakistan. A democratic South Asia requires us to strengthen our relationship with each other.”

Islam emphasized that Bangladesh is keen on maintaining relations with any country while upholding its independence, sovereignty, and national interests. He also mentioned, “We are interested in resolving the issues of 1971 in the national interest and developing relations.”