Islamabad, Aug 04: Pakistan's human rights groups have stepped up a campaign to demand a full apology by its government for excesses during the 1971 war which led to the creation of Bangladesh, activists said today.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has renewed a campaign to press for an apology following President Pervez Musharraf's visit to Dhaka last week. Musharraf was the first Pakistani military ruler to visit Bangladesh.

He twice expressed regret for his country's military "excesses" in the war, which Dhaka says claimed three million lives. HRCP chairman Afrasiab Khatak welcomed Musharraf's statements of regret but said it did not go far enough. "That is not enough. What we are calling for is a full apology to the Bangladeshi people," he told a news agency.

HRCP and more than a dozen other rights groups took out a newspaper advertisement over the weekend reiterating their demand for an apology. "Through the advertisement campaign we are sending a message to our brothers and sisters in Bangladesh that civil society in Pakistan does not endorse what was done by the military," Khattak said.

At a banquet hosted by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia on Tuesday Musharraf said Pakistanis "share with their fellow brothers and sisters in Bangladesh profound grief over the parameters of events of 1971."

"We feel sorry for this tragedy and the pain it caused to both our peoples."

Bureau Report