Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan came to power two years back promising a New Pakistan. But he has proved himself a dismal failure in delivering what he promised. Gradually Pakistanis are realizing this hard truth that Imran Khan’s new Pakistan is nothing but a mere slogan. It is also becoming clear to them that Khan too represents the old politics since he also enjoys patronage of the all-powerful military to remain in power which is an age-old feature in Pakistani politics.
However, Prime Minister Imran Khan has been relatively successful in Pakistan’s foreign affairs in which he has taken one initiative after another. As part of his foray in foreign affairs, he has sought to take advantage of the irritants in Bangladesh-India relations. Accordingly, Imran Khan called Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on July 22 and sought to improve relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Imran Khan’s gesture to improve relations with Bangladesh is diplomatically interesting because Bangladesh-Pakistan relations which remained stagnant for several years following Hasina’s landslide election victory and assumption of power in 2009 have witnessed a thaw recently. Pakistan has been showing their eagerness to increase its investments in Bangladesh as part of this new drive. Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh recently met with Bangladesh Minister for Foreign Affairs Abdul Momen as a part of this venture.
Some quarters in Bangladesh seem to be elated at this new initiative of Imran Khan. On the other hand, some quarters in India seem to be nervous because of these recent developments in Bangladesh-Pakistan relations. Both elations of some quarters in Bangladesh and pessimism of their Indian counterparts seem to be equally misplaced because history still haunts Bangladesh-Pakistan relations even after almost fifty years.
We, the Bengalis, may be a little oblivious of our tortured history. But when Bangladesh-Pakistan relations come to the fore, history still haunts us because a litany of complaints can be lodged at the door of Pakistan even almost five decades after the emergence of Bangladesh as a nation state in 1971.
Pakistan has not yet offered a formal apology to the people
of Bangladesh for the 1971 genocide even after 49 years of our
independence. To be exact, Pakistan must offer a formal apology
and acknowledge the atrocities committed by them including the
genocide. Moreover, Pakistan should not only acknowledge its historic
crime but also stop debunking our glorious Liberation War.
While we were part of Pakistan following the misapplication of the historic Lahore Resolution of 1940 by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the father of Pakistan, we were always treated contemptuously by the Pakistani rulers. To them, we were simply second class Muslims converted from Hindus. Unlike the West Pakistanis, we were not regarded as a martial race. In fact, we were wrongly treated as a rice-eating inferior people devoid of physical vigor and chivalry. But they were scared of our rich language and culture which they sought to destroy by imposing Urdu upon us.
Politically speaking, East Pakistan was never given provincial autonomy. Whenever we raised our legitimate demands for autonomy, we were branded as “agents of India” and “communists.” We won the 1954 Election for regional autonomy for East Pakistan, but we were not allowed to enjoy it. We were never given democracy. Instead, we languished under autocracy and military dictatorship for more than two decades. Economically speaking, we were exploited as a colony. In fact, we were culturally repressed, politically deprived of our legitimate rights and economically exploited.
In November 1970, we experienced one of the most devastating natural disasters in human history, but Pakistani ruling clique hardly came to help us. In 1970, we won the first and only popular election in united Pakistan’s history, but power was never transferred to our elected representatives. When we voiced our legitimate demands for democracy and sovereignty in March 1971 following the historic election victory by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman-led Awami League, Pakistan started perpetrating one of the worst genocides in world history in which three million people were killed. More than three hundred thousand mothers and sisters were tortured and raped by the Pakistani army and their local collaborators.
However, we fought a glorious Liberation War against the Pakistani army in 1971 and won an unprecedented victory in which more than ninety thousands Pakistani military personnel surrendered to the Joint Command of Indian armed forces and Bangladesh freedom fighters on December 16, 1971. Since Pakistanis are very much proud of their so-called military prowess and chivalry, it has been very difficult if not impossible for them to digest this historic defeat in 1971. In fact, December 16 which is regarded as a day of catastrophe in Pakistan still haunts them! On the other hand, this red letter day is the proudest moment in our two thousand years’ old history as a nation.
In 1974, Pakistan recognized Bangladesh under the mediation of some friendly Muslim countries but relations between these two countries have been more or less in a stalemate since then because history still haunts us for myriads of reasons.
First, Pakistan has not yet offered a formal apology to the people of Bangladesh for the 1971 genocide even after 49 years of our independence. To be exact, Pakistan must offer a formal apology and acknowledge the atrocities committed by them including the genocide. Moreover, Pakistan should not only acknowledge its historic crime but also stop debunking our glorious Liberation War. Pakistani press and intellectuals should not try to depict our Liberation War as a conspiracy of India but should regard our National Liberation War as the manifestation of true Bangalee nationalist spirit championed by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Second, Pakistan has not yet come with an understanding with Bangladesh over the division of pre-1971 common national assets over which people of Bangladesh still have legitimate interests and demands. Third, Pakistan instigated the 1975 military coup against Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and got him and his family killed. Moreover, Pakistan’s intelligence agency has reportedly been sheltering some of the fugitive accomplices of the 1975 military coup. For this, Pakistan should acknowledge its crime and offer another apology to Bangladesh, especially to its current prime minister.
Fourth, Pakistan should stop undermining the international War Crime Tribunal of Bangladesh which has been trying those involved in rape, torture, killings and looting during the Liberation War in 1971. The sooner Pakistan does these, the better. Otherwise, history will continue to haunt Bangladesh-Pakistan relations in the years to come as it has done earlier.
The author is an Assistant Professor, Noakhali Science and Technology University (NSTU), Noakhali, Bangladesh.
