Pakistan Must Reconcile with Bangladesh's 1971 Painful Legacy

Dr Muhammad Yunus (R), Chief Adviser of Bangladesh Interim Government meets Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (L) at Cairo - Photo Collected

SALEEM SAMAD

After decades of hiatus, Bangladesh and Pakistan have made a major step toward a new era of regional cooperation in South Asia, which has been riddled with suspicion, distrust, disrespect, and a lack of neighbourliness among the eight countries.

When Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, Chief Advisor of the Interim Government of Bangladesh embraced Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif with grins on their faces decided to put the bilateral relations at a new height.

Yunus and Sharif met on the sidelines at the D-8 Summit held by developing nations in Cairo, the capital of Egypt.

Shehbaz Sharif called for a strategic relationship between Dhaka and Islamabad and said “We are really looking forward to strengthening our relationship with our brother-in-country Bangladesh.”

Dr Yunus expressed his keenness to reactivate the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) as “a top priority.” 

“I am a big fan of the idea of SAARC. I keep harping on the issue. I want a summit of SAARC leaders even if it is only for a photo session because that will carry a strong message,” the French news agency AFP quoted Yunus as telling Shehbaz.

The moribund eight-nation SAARC (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) was largely stalled due to arguments between Islamabad and New Delhi.

Bangladesh and Pakistan are two wings of India and are not physically connected by land, rivers, and blue mountains. 

The two leaders expressed their desire to resolve outstanding grievances from the brutal birth of Bangladesh in 1971. The month of December is an emotional month for Bangladesh.

The day is observed with due solemnity to respect the millions of martyrs at the gigantic National Martyrs Memorial on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka.

All organizations, professional bodies, and political parties assemble at dawn to pay homage at the site, except for the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami, who were alleged henchmen and armed militias groups, which rampaged and pillaged thousands of villages during the nine months of liberation war.

On a historic day, Lieutenant General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, Commander of Eastern Command, Pakistan Army and Indian Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora of the Eastern Command, Indian Army flanked by a dozen Mukti Bahini commanders signed a historic ‘instrument of surrender’ in accordance to Geneva Convention.

An estimated 93,000 members of Pakistan’s armed forces, other auxiliary forces, civil officers, and their families surrendered on 16 December after a humiliating defeat, which created an independent Bangladesh.

It was the world’s largest surrender in terms of number of personnel since World War II. The prisoners of war (POWs) were repatriated under the Tripartite Agreement signed in April 1974 by Foreign Ministers of Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India in New Delhi. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held in Lahore, Pakistan in February 1974 helped resolve the issue of Bangladesh’s recognition intervened by Egypt and Algeria.

According to textbook history, the eastern province of Pakistan (known as East Pakistan) plunged into a bloody civil war after the military junta refused to accept the people’s mandate of the first-ever general elections in 1970.

The martial law government based in Rawalpindi launched a crackdown ‘Operation Searchlight’ in March 1971 after denying in handing over political power to the elected representatives. In hours the Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was detained and party banned.

When Mujib was picked up by the military in Dhaka, nearly 1,500 political and student leaders, intellectuals, acclaimed poets, senior lawyers, journalists and others were arrested from (western) Pakistan.

Relations between the two countries experienced hiccups during the last five decades. The three military dictators General Ziaur Rahman, General H.M. Ershad and General Moeen U Ahmed went ahead to thaw the bilateral relations with their counterpart military junta in Pakistan, which were never sustainable in the see-saw diplomatic maneuver by the autocratic regimes in both countries.

During the democratic era, the two Begums failed to build up the relationship between Bangladesh and Pakistan. The prestigious Pakistan newspaper The Dawn writes: In the years since the split (independence), Dhaka’s leaders — especially the recently ousted regime of Sheikh Hasina — stayed firmly in the Indian camp, preferring to maintain close ties with New Delhi and keeping Islamabad at arm’s length.

However, ever since a popular uprising that saw Hasina’s government toppled in August, there has been a thaw in ties between the two capitals, with trade and bilateral relations seeing a marked improvement, wrote the newspaper.

They also agreed to expand and deepen bilateral cooperation in all areas of mutual interest and emphasized the need to align efforts to achieve mutually beneficial development objectives.

Yunus told AFP “The issues (of 1971) have kept coming again and again. Let’s settle those issues for us to move forward.”

The two leaders acknowledged the importance of people-to-people contacts and cultural exchanges including enhanced exchange of artists, sportspersons, academics, students, etc.

Political historian Mohiuddin Ahmad said he does not see how the relationship would defrost the relationship which has deepened scars of the brutal independence war.

It is no denying that Clause 13 of the Tripartite Agreement, Pakistan agreed to put 195 senior military officers on trial for war crimes, crimes against humanity and rape as a weapon of war.

Unfortunately, lack of a guarantee clause in the agreement, the military dictator and also President, General Ziaul Huq instead pardoned the accused, which was a serious breach of the Delhi agreement, said the Mukti Bahini veteran Mohiuddin Ahmad.

Sharif said the 1974 Tripartite Agreement involving Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India settled things, “but if there are other outstanding issues,” he would be happy to look into it. Yunus said it would indeed be nice to resolve things “once and for all for the future generations.”

Former Ambassador Humayun Kabir doubts that settling down on the 1971 issue, who is also a liberation war veteran said it would not be easy for the millions of people who joined the guerrillas (Mukti Bahini), those became war refugees, the genocide survivors and of course the rape victims would be able to forget the nightmare and pardon the perpetrators, who were unfortunately not punished for committing crimes in 1971.

When military usurper General Pervez Musharraf visited Bangladesh in July 2002, he was greeted by a general strike and Dhaka University students fought a pitch battle with riot police in the capital demanding Pakistan should seek apology for what military troops had committed.

He (Musharraf) regretted the excesses committed during Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence but called for burying the past in the spirit of friendship. Well, his statement was short of apology for the crimes committed during the war and said “Your brothers and sisters in Pakistan share the pains of the events of 1971.”

Perhaps stating only one word “apology” in public for crimes committed by Pakistan military during 1971 would melt the ice once and for all, remarks Ambassador Kabir.

First published in the Stratheia Policy Journal, Islamabad, Pakistan, 21 December 2024

Saleem Samad is an award-winning independent journalist based in Bangladesh. A media rights defender with the Reporters Without Borders (@RSF_inter). Recipient of Ashoka Fellowship and Hellman-Hammett Award. He could be reached at saleemsamad@hotmail.com; Twitter (X): @saleemsamad

Victory Day To Commemorate The 1971 War Of Bangladesh

SALEEM SAMAD

Vijay Diwas or Victory Day is celebrated in Bangladesh and observed in India to commemorate the victory of Indian forces in a battle against the ‘occupation’ Pakistan military and the liberation of Bangladesh.

The fall of Dhaka was indeed the greatest achievement of a military battle in years to come, which culminated in a surrender ceremony on December 16, 1971.

The brutal war of Bangladesh's independence came with a heavy cost of the supreme sacrifice of thousands of fallen soldiers of the Indian Army and Mukti Bahini (Bangladesh Liberation Force).

With the surrender of 93,000 troops, officers and staff of government offices and their family members became prisoners of war (POW) under the Geneva Convention of 1949.

With heads down in shame, the defeated soldiers laid down their weapons. Ranks from their uniform were removed and taken away by the Indian army to military garrisons as POWs.

After several wars between India and Pakistan, it was indeed a humiliating defeat for Pakistan in the eastern war theatre.

Pakistan's government in Islamabad and the military headquarters in Rawalpindi gave hope to their military and civilians that China would open a battlefront with India, which would divert the Indian Mountain Division to hold the incursion.

Simultaneously the United States Seventh Fleet would move into the Bay of Bengal to provide aerial support to block Indian Air Force to provide ground support to the advancing Indian forces and the Mukti Bahini.

Nothing happened! China did not dare to push into India as snow-capped mountains were difficult to cross. There was no movement of the People's Liberation Army of China from their warm quarters. The US fleet also did not sail into the Indian Ocean after threats by the Soviet Union.

The India-Pakistan war in the eastern sector created history. The nine months to freedom was the shortest war of independence of the last century compared to the war in Vietnam, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Namibia and scores of other countries gained after protracted bloody wars.

After WWII, it was the only battle that ended with a surrender ceremony at Dhaka. The Instrument of Surrender was signed by Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, who was the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command and Pakistan's Eastern Command General A. A. K. Niazi, who corroborated the surrender of 93,000 Pakistani soldiers to India — the world's largest surrender in terms of number of personnel since World War II.

The war created the largest number of 10 million war refugees sheltered in squalid camps in neighbouring states with Bangladesh. Another information is that the majority of the refugees have returned home.

The war-torn Bangladesh government had to undertake a gigantic post-war rehabilitation programme to settle the returnees in their villages.

As a foot soldier with the Mukti Bahini deployed in Dhaka under Sector 2 commanded by Major ATM Haider, I witnessed the demoralised Pakistan troops in the capital being driven to POW camps.

During my recent visit to the Northeast Indian states of Assam and Tripura, I found among different professions and backgrounds a keen interest in Bangladesh-India bilateral relations, especially improving connectivity between the northeast states with Bangladesh.

Of course, the interest is centred on one-sided upcoming elections in Bangladesh with threats of opposition in the battle of votes.

Of course, the Awami League will make a land-slide victory led by Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of the independence hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who is popularly known as ‘Bangabandhu’. Hasina will surely go into the Guinness Book of World Records for being the longest-serving women prime minister in the world.

A couple of years ago, the Guwahati-Dhaka bus service began with fanfare. The public transport needs to be rolling to augment people-to-people contact.

The bus service between Agartala and Dhaka is functioning. The much-expected Agartala-Kolkata train connectivity through Dhaka is expected in 2024.

Lots of enthusiasm was found after the news of the Guwahati-Dhaka and Agartala-Chattogram flights appeared in the media in the Northeast.

It is expected that trade, commerce, and connectivity will bring the neighbouring states with the return of the Awami League government with Northeast states closer than before.

First in G-Plus digital newspaper, Guwahati, Assam, India, 16 December 2023

Saleem Samad is an award-winning independent journalist based in Bangladesh. A media rights defender with the Reporters Without Borders (@RSF_inter). Recipient of Ashoka Fellowship and Hellman-Hammett Award. He could be reached at saleemsamad@hotmail.com; Twitter (X): @saleemsamad

Why the idea of a unified struggle with Pakistan’s exiled political leaders failed in 1971

SALEEM SAMAD

In December 1971, when the Mukti Bahini guerrillas and the Indian army captured large chunks of occupied Bangladesh, the government-in-exile in Kolkata and Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi were having sleepless nights.

At the fag-end of the Liberation War, a senior leader -- Abdus Samad Azad -- took charge of the ministry of foreign affairs from Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad.

In London on December 16, 1971, the Bangladesh foreign minister organized a top-secret meeting of exiled political leaders from Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North-West Frontier Province -- NWFP) in Pakistan. Azad was not sure what the outcome of the secret meeting would be. The Pakistani leaders were living in exile to escape the wrath of the military junta in the Rawalpindi military headquarters.

The victims were mostly politicians of ethnic sub-nationalities from the minority provinces in Pakistan, and progressive left intellectuals who dared to raise their voices in favour of handing over power to the Awami League, the unconditional release of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the safe return of refugees from India, and the withdrawal of troops from the eastern front.

Tajuddin Ahmed, prime minister of the provisional government, in conjunction with South Block in New Delhi envisaged opening a crucial dialogue with Pakistan’s exiled political leaders in London. Among the attendees was Khan Abdul Wali Khan (leader of the socialist National Awami Party of the NWFP, an iconic Pashtun leader, and an able son of “Frontier Gandhi” Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan).

All of the progressive leaders of Pakistan were fortunately close allies of Sheikh Mujib and had lent him their political support, which raised alarm bells among military hawks in Rawalpindi.

The agenda of the meeting was sensitive. The leaders expressed their solidarity with the creation of independent Bangladesh and were worried about the safety of Sheikh Mujib. Azad did not hesitate to spell out the exiled government’s plan. He carefully laid down whether there was any possibility to forge a joint front for armed rebellion among the ethnic sub-national people in Pakistan to break away from Pakistan and become sovereign independent nation-states, as Bangladesh had showcased.

The Bangladesh leader in his submission said the Indian army had reached the gates of Lahore and it was an opportune moment to strike. He said confidently that Bangladesh would provide logistics from friendly countries to wage armed struggles and extend political, diplomatic, and military support for a unified movement.

The ethnic leaders at the Charing Cross meeting could not believe that Bangladesh leadership would offer such a radical proposal. They doubted whether Bangladesh could provide political and military support to the ethnic armed struggles already happening in Balochistan and NWFP.

The curious leaders asked Azad about India’s mindset to back the movements of the Sindhi, Baloch, and Pashtuns. Azad quickly assured them that India’s political support could be mustered, citing India’s help for Bangladesh’s Liberation Movement. He said the Awami League leadership was willing to talk to New Delhi to secure India’s support, on the condition that the leaders would have to commit to democracy, secularism, and pluralism, and reject Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s two-nation theory.

However, the exiled leaders Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, Khan Abdul Wali Khan, and Khair Baksh Marri said the proposal was too little, too late. While the meeting was in progress, news broke in the British media that 93,000 Pakistan troops and civilian officers had unconditionally surrendered in Dhaka.

Several historians conclude that it was obvious the dialogue failed because the secret plan was made in haste with a poor vision and no timeline.

First published in the Dhaka Tribune 18 May 2021

Saleem Samad is an independent journalist, media rights defender, recipient of Ashoka Fellowship and Hellman-Hammett Award. He could be reached at saleemsamad@hotmail.com; Twitter @saleemsamad

Thaw in Bangladesh, Pakistan, relations?

SALEEM SAMAD

The Pakistani press deliberately avoided the exchange between the Pakistan High Commissioner to Bangladesh Imran Ahmed Siddique and the Bangladesh PM.

There was lots of enthusiasm in the national press in Pakistan and among the Hawks in Islamabad, regarding the ‘quiet diplomacy’ of a rare meeting of Pakistan’s envoy with Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

The Hawks in Islamabad failed to realise why Hasina cleverly gave an appointment in December at her official residence Gonobhaban.

Bangladesh observes 16 December as ‘Victory Day’ when 93,000 marauding Pakistan armed forces and civilians surrendered at Dhaka in 1971, and Bangladesh was liberated.

The Pakistani press deliberately avoided the exchange between the Pakistan High Commissioner to Bangladesh Imran Ahmed Siddique and the Bangladesh PM.

Hasina during the parley maintaining social distancing in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, did not hesitate to state that “The incidents of 1971 can’t be forgotten. The pain will remain there forever,” says official news agency BSS.

She also referred to the volumes of a book titled “Secret Documents of Intelligence Branch on Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman”, the prime minister said people can learn historical incidents that occurred during 1948-1971. The documents describe how Pakistan junta interpreted his political activities and intermittently put him behind bars years after years.

She said both the English and Urdu version of the book “Unfinished Memoirs” by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is one of the bestsellers in Pakistan. “It’s also well-read in Pakistan apart from other countries.”

When the diplomat raised that different bilateral and regional forums have remained inactive for some time and sought Dhaka’s initiative to reactivate the Foreign Office consultations (FCO) between the two countries, Hasina responded that as she believes in regional cooperation and there is no problem in the functioning of the forums.

Hasina, daughter of the architect of Bangladesh independence, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman reiterated Bangladesh’s foreign policy “friendship to all malice towards none”, and said she believes in continuing relationships with other countries too.

Well, the daily newspapers Dawn, Express Tribune, and other online newspapers published spoon-fed news tailored by the Press Information Department in Islamabad –what the citizens of Pakistan would love to hear.

Both Urdu and English press welcomed Hasina’s meeting with the Pakistan diplomat. Whereas she refused to meet the outgoing Indian envoy during the coronavirus lockdown.

The parley was interpreted as yet another sign suggesting warming up of nearly a decade old tensions between the two countries since Bangladesh bifurcated from Pakistan after a bloody war of independence in 1971.

Kamran Yousaf writes in the Express Tribune that the meeting of the Pakistani envoy with the Bangladeshi PM was the result of a ‘quiet diplomacy’.

The ice melted first in July when the Pakistani High Commissioner held a meeting with the Bangladeshi Foreign Minister during the coronavirus outbreak at its peak. The meeting that raised eyebrows in India, the wise-man writes.

A similar circus occurred when Imran Khan and his Bangladeshi counterpart spoke by phone.

What the press in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad censored was that Hasina, confidently told the Naya Pakistan leader Khan, that his country must express apology for war crimes committed by the Pakistan military during the brutal birth of Bangladesh in 1971.

The diplomatic relationship between the two countries was experiencing hiccups after Pakistan repeatedly condemned the verdicts of the International Crimes Tribunal against the war criminals who are Bangladesh born and possess the nationality of Bangladesh.

Hasina was furious after recurring outlandish statements by Islamabad on war crimes trials were issued. In 2016, Pakistan’s parliament passed a unanimous resolution condemning the “politically motivated” trials.

Bangladesh protested to Pakistan’s condemnation, and diplomatic relations began to deteriorate. The ties sank in a quagmire.

She decided to call back the Bangladesh High Commissioner from Islamabad and lower the diplomatic status of the mission.

Her anger could be understood when she wanted to close down the Bangladesh mission in Islamabad and severe diplomatic relations with Pakistan.

Hastily at the request of India, Saudi Arabia, and the United States, Hasina changed her mind and instead kept the status low by withdrawing High Commissioner, Deputy High Commissioner, and other senior diplomatic officials.

The final blow comes when an official announcement that no tourist visa would be issued except for official visits and business visas. Pakistan also reciprocated the visa regime no visa is issued from Dhaka. Thus the only air connectivity by PIA had to cancel the flights for lack of passengers.

Despite Pakistan’s academia in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, intellectuals, rights groups, and mainstream Urdu and English language media often write about Pakistan debacles in Bangladesh war theatre, war crimes trial, and advocates for a thaw in the estranged relationship between two countries. Still, some reactionary elements, mostly Islamist groups, remained negative about the Bangladesh war crimes trial.

The Pakistan media admits that the strained relationship occurred after Bangladesh went ahead with the trial of the war criminals in 2009.

However, the politicians and Islamist parties argue that Sheikh Hasina is settling scores against her opponents and Islamic evangelist and key leaders of the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami.

The politicians do not say that political leaders of the ruling Awami League, Jatiya Party, and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) were also indicted and given maximum punishment.

Not surprised that the nationalist movements in Balochistan and Sind eagerly urge Bangladesh to raise the crime against humanity in their provinces at the international forum. Especially the enforced disappearances, torture, and atrocities against the Baloch and Sindhi nationals.

Recently the human rights abuses against Pashtun nationalists and human rights activists have sharply risen.

Well, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a dangerous country for religious minorities, especially the Ahmadiyya, Christian, Sikh, and worst are the Hindus. The Hindu teenage and minor girls are victims of abduction, forced conversion, and married to elderly polygamist husbands, happening mostly in Sindh.

Finally, Kamran Yousaf writes that the statement issued by the Bangladeshi Prime Minister’s Office said the incidents of 1971 cannot be forgotten and forgiven. This shows that the Bangladesh government is still adamant that Pakistan must formally apologise over the events of 1971.

To bury the past and thaw the relationship among two South Asian countries, Islamabad must seek a public apology for committing war crimes and thus open a new chapter with Bangladesh.

First published in news portal Shuddhashar, published from Norway on 18 December 2020

Saleem Samad is an independent journalist, media rights defender, recipient of Ashoka Fellowship and Hellman-Hammett Award. He could be reached at <saleemsamad@hotmail.com>; Twitter @saleemsamad