Bangladesh Seeks Pakistan's Apology Over 1971 War Massacre, Hina Rabbani Avoids

Bangladesh has once again asked Pakistan to publicly apologize for the massacre by the Pakistani invading forces in the 1971 Liberation War. Foreign Minister of Bangladesh AK Abdul Momen made this demand in a meeting with Pakistani State Minister for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo last Saturday. However, Momen said that Hina Rabbani was unresponsive to his proposal.

This information was given by the Foreign Minister, Momen, while replying to newsmen at the state Guest House 'Padma' on Sunday afternoon. He said, "She (Pakistan's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs) told me they want to strengthen ties with us. We have told her to publicly seek an apology for the genocide in 1971. She avoided the issue and did not reply. She  said they have certain limitations. I said we have certain limitations here."

The foreign minister said, "Pakistan wants to increase trade relations with us. They want to FOC. I said you have given anti-dumping conditions and she said that was a good point. That seemed positive to me. They want to improve relations with the entire Indian subcontinent, not just Bangladesh."

The Foreign Minister visited Colombo on February 3 and 4 to attend Sri Lanka's 75th Republic Day celebrations. On the sideline of the event, Pakistan's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar made a courtesy call with the foreign minister of Bangladesh on Saturday.