Pakistan point of view on war crime trial : It’s not the right time

[Al-zakir]

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February 17, 2009 - 12:24am



Pakistan President's Special Envoy Zia Ispahani said here yesterday that this is not the right moment to take up the issue of holding trial of the 1971 war criminals as there are so many other issues where Pakistan likes to cooperate with Bangladesh.

"We should not go into this issue at the moment. Because, there are so many other issues we like to cooperate with Bangladesh. I think we should move forward," he said responding to a question after his meeting with Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni at the Foreign Ministry.

A correspondent wanted to know Pak position as the present government of Bangladesh has election pledge to hold the trial of the war criminals and some 215 Pakistani army-men were charged with the war crimes. "I don't give any comment on it," the envoy said when asked whether they support the holding of the trial of those who committed heinous crimes during the war of liberation from the Pakistani rule.

Asked whether the issue came up for discussion on Monday, he said, "We've not discussed this issue."

Asked about Pakistan's apology for atrocities on innocent Bangladeshis during the Bangladesh Liberation War, Ispahani said, "I think we have already apologized. Former President Gen Musharraf came here, went to the Memorial and apologized. I think our Prime Minister has also done the same."

On Bangladesh's proposal for forming joint anti-terrorism taskforce in South Asia, he appreciated the proposal as a "good idea" as he said Pakistan is suffering from terrorist attacks. And "it's a very serious problem we're facing".

He said since the idea is very new, "we'll have to work together. We' ll have to meet with relevant people and we hope to move it forward."

Ispahani, who came yesterday to congratulate the new government of Bangladesh as the Special Envoy from Islamabad, said Pakistan wants to improve relations with Bangladesh as "we've now democratically elected governments in Pakistan and Bangladesh." The Pak emissary said the Pakistan President and the Prime Minister are keen to improve the relations and happy to work together.

Asked about the Indian accusation of Pakistan for Mumbai terror attacks, Ispahani said, "I don't know whether we have been made accused. We're saying to give us more evidence. At the moment the process is still going on, and they have not come to any conclusion."

http://newsfrombangladesh.net/view.php?hidRecord=247615

[SamJarwar]

Hmmm Good Article

[Patriot]

I think Pakistan should drop diplomatic relations with Bangladesh if they keep their lame *** excuse that Pakistani War criminals should be tried..I am glad India and Pakistan made deal and no Pakistani POW was tried and every one was sent back home.Both sides committed war crimes.I still remember Sir Muradk post about a pilot who was killed by Rebels (They chopped his head off!).Both sides committed war crimes..

[Al-zakir]

I think Pakistan should drop diplomatic relations with Bangladesh if they keep their lame *** excuse that Pakistani War criminals should be tried..I am glad India and Pakistan made deal and no Pakistani POW was tried and every one was sent back home.

Hey as a Bangladeshi I understand your emotion and most of us want to forget the ugly past and move on for better future but unfortunatly we have a party called awami league that bring this dead issue over and over to score some political gain becasue without this issue they have nothing else left for their dirty politics.

[DarkStar]

In such a civil conflict, atrocities occur on both sides (some more than others). If the regular foces committed atrocities, it is also true that irregular mukti bahnis must have too.

Bengladesh should first start with trying the war criminals both razakars and mukti bahnis, that live in its own borders, to facilitate reconciliation. Once it has set up a system, and tried any wrongdoers in Bengladesh, only then do they have the moral right to ask Pakistan to try any criminals that may reside there.

[asaad-ul-islam]

bengalis coveniently ignore the plight of biharis, punjabis, and other people dumped into the 'urdu-speaking' category. innocent people were raped, murdered much before the army action took place in east pakistan. it wasn't just mukhti bahini, it was the bengali populace that was involved in the act. even today, some of my family members are grateful that army took action. luckily they were able to escape 'untouched' and 'unharmed' but at the price of losing all of their wealth in the form of a factory. one day, I will show you guys a picture of my maternal grandfather standing next to General Irshad, former dictator of Bangladesh!

so Pakistan isn't to blame for anything, treachery is reserved for only one side. the only thing west pakistan can be responsible for is maltreatment of bengalis and discrimination, but that too can be debated as west pakistanis living in east pakistan were treated just as harshly.

how about bangladesh apologizing for their own war crimes against biharis, punjabis, pakhtuns, and urdu-speaking people living there?

[asaad-ul-islam]

Excerpts from "Blood and Tears"
Book by Qutubuddin Aziz

Looking at the tragic events of March 1971 in retrospect, I must confess that even I, although my press service commanded a sizeable network of district correspondents in the interior of East Pakistan, was not fully aware of the scale, ferocity and dimension of the province-wide massacre of the non-Banglis.

I must stress, with all the force and sincerity at my command, that this bock is not intended to be a racist indictment of the Bengalis as a nation. In writing and publishing this book, I am not motivated by any revanchist obsession or a wish to condemn my erstwhile Bengali compatriots as a nation. Just as it is stupid to condemn the great German people for the sins of the Nazis, it would be foolish to blame the Bengali people as a whole for the dark deeds of the Awami League militants and their accomplices.

I have incorporated in this book the acts of heroism and courage of those brave and patriotic Bengalis who sheltered and protected, at great peril to themselves, their terror-stricken non-Bengali friends and neighbours. On the basis of the heaps of eye-witness accounts, which I have carefully read, sifted and analysed, I do make bold to say that the vast majority of Bengalis disapproved of and was not a party to the barbaric atrocities inflicted on the hapless non-Bengalis by the Awami League's terror machine and the Frankensteins and vampires it unloosed. This silent majority, it seemed, was awed, immobilised and neutralised by the terrifying power, weapons and ruthlessness of a misguided minority hell-bent on accomplishing the secession of East Pakistan.

The sheaves of eye-witness accounts, documented in this book, prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that the massacre of West Pakistanis, Biharis and other non-Bengalis in East Pakistan had begun long before the Pakistan Army took punitive action against the rebels late in the night of March 25, 1971. It is also crystal clear that the Awami League's terror machine was the initiator and executor of the genocide against the non-Bengalis which exterminated at least half a million of them in less than two months of horror and trauma. Many witnesses have opined that the federal Government acted a bit too late against the insurgents. The initial success of the federal military action is proved by the fact that in barely 30 days, the Pakistan Army, with a combat strength of 38,717 officers and men in East Pakistan, had squelched the Awami League's March-April, 1971, rebellion all over the province.

The hundreds of eye-witnesses from towns and cities of East Pakistan, whose testimonies are documented in this book, are unanimous in reporting that the slaughter of West Pakistanis, Biharis, and other non-Bangalis and of some pro-Pakistan Bengalis had begun in the early days of the murderous month of March 1971.

The 170 eye-witnesses, whose testimonies or interviews are contained in this book in abridged form have been chosen from a universe of more than 5,000 repatriated non-Bengali families. I had identified, after some considerable research, 55 towns and cities in East Pakistan where the abridgement of the non-Bengali population in March and early April 1971 was conspicuously heavy. The collection and compilation of these eye-witness accounts was started in January 1974 and completed in twelve weeks. A team of four reporters, commissioned for interviewing the witnesses from all these 55 towns and cities of East Pakistan, worked with intense devotion to secure their testimony. Many of the interviews were prolonged because the Witnesses broke down in a flurry of sobs and tears as they related the agonising stories of their wrecked lives. I had issued in February 1974 an appeal in the newspapers for such eye-witness accounts, and I am grateful to the many hundreds of witnesses who promptly responded to my call.

“I am the lone survivor of a group of ten Pathans who were employed as Security Guards by the Delta Construction Company in the Mohakhali locality in Dacca; all the others were slaughtered by the Bengali rebels in the night of March 25, 1971”, said 40-year-old Bacha Khan.

“I heard the screams of an Urdu-speaking girl who was being ravished by her Bengali captors but I was so scared that I did not have the courage to emerge from hiding” said a 24-year-old Zahid Abdi, who was employed in a trading firm in Dacca. He escaped the slaughter of the non-Bengalis in the crowded New Market locality of Dacca on March 23, 1971 and was sheltered by a God-fearing Bengali in his shop. The killers raped their non-Bengali teenage victim at the back of the shop and later on slayed her.

“My only daughter has been insane since she was forced by her savage tormentors to watch the brutal murder of her husband”, said Mukhtar Ahmed Khan, 43, while giving an account of his suffering during the Ides of March 1971 in Dacca….“In the third week of March 1971, a gang of armed Bengali rebels raided house of my son-in-law and overpowered him. He was a courageous Youngman and he resisted the attackers. My daughter also resisted the attackers but they were far too many and they were well armed. They tied up my son-in-law and my daughter with ropes and they forced her to watch as they slit the throat of her husband and ripped his stomach open in the style of butchers. She fainted and lost consciousness. Since that dreadful day she has been mentally ill."

Shamim Akhtar, 28, whose husband was employed as a clerk in the Railway office in Dacca, lived in a small house in the Mirpur locality there.

She described her tragedy in these words:

“On December 17, 1971, the Mukti Bahini cut off the water supply to our homes. We used to get water from a nearby pond; it was polluted and had a bad odour. I was nine months pregnant. On December 23, 1971, I gave birth to a baby girl. No midwife was available and my husband helped me at child birth. Late at night, a gang of armed Bengalis raided our house, grabbed my husband and trucked him away. I begged them in the name of God to spare him as I could not even walk and my children were too small. The killers were heartless and I learnt that they murdered my husband. After five days, they returned and ordered me and my children to vacate the house as they claimed that it was now their property.”

Zaibunnissa Haq, 30, whose journalist husband, Izhar-ul-Haque, worked as a columnist in the Daily Watan in Dacca, gave this account of her travail in 1971:

“….On December 21, a posse of Mukti Bahini soldiers and some thugs rode into our locality with blazing guns and ordered us to leave our house as, according to them, no Bihari could own a house in Bangladesh. For two days, we lived on bare earth in an open space and we had nothing to eat. Subsequently, we were taken to a Relief Camp by the Red Cross.”

In Pubail and Tangibari, the Awami League militants and their rebel confederates murdered dozens of affluent Biharis. Shops owned by the Biharis were favourite target of attack.

“Four armed thugs dragged two captive non-Bengali teenage girls into an empty bus and violated their chastity before gunning them to death”, said Gulzar Hussain, 38, who witnessed the massacre of 22 non-Bengali men, women and children on March 21, 1971, close to a bus stand in Narayangang. Repatriated to Karachi in November 1973, Gulzar Hussain reported: "….On March 21, our Dacca-bound bus was stopped on the way, soon after it left the heart of the city. I was seated in the front portion of the bus and I saw that the killer gang had guns, scythes and daggers. The gunmen raised 'Joi Bangla' and anti-Pakistan slogans. The bus driver obeyed their signal to stop and the thugs motioned to the passengers to get down. A jingo barked out the order that Bengalis and non-Bengalis should fall into separate lines. As I spoke Bengali with a perfect Dacca accent and could easily pass for a Bengali, I joined the Bengali group of passengers. The killer gang asked us to utter a few sentences in Bengali which we did. I passed the test and our tormentors instructed the Bengalis to scatter. The thugs then gunned all the male non-Bengalis. It was a horrible scene. Four of the gunmen took for their loot two young non-Bengali women and raped them inside the empty bus. After they had ravished the girls, the killers shot them and half a dozen other women and children.”

Nasima Khatoon, 25, lived in a rented house in the Pancho Boti locality in Narayanganj. Her husband, Mohammad Qamrul Hasan, was employed in a Vegetable Oil manufacturing factory. Repatriated to Karachi in January 1974, along with her 4-year-old orphaned daughter, from a Red Cross Camp in Dacca, Nasima gave this hair-raising account of her travail in 1971:

“At gun point, our captors made us leave our house and marched us to an open square where more than 500 non –Bengali old men, women and children were detained. Some 50 Bengali gunmen led us through swampy ground towards a deserted school building. On the way, the 3-year-old child of a hapless captive woman died in her arms. She asked her captors to allow her to dig a small grave and bury the child. The tough man in the lead snorted a sharp ‘NO’, snatched the body of the dead child from her wailing mother and tossed it into the river”

The Awami League's rebellion of March 1971 took the heaviest toll of non-Bengali lives in the populous port city of Chittagong. Although the Government of Pakistan's White Paper of August 1971 on the East Pakistan crisis estimated the non-Bengali death toll in Chittagong and its neighbouring townships during the Awami League's insurrection to be a little under 15,000, the testimony of hundreds of eye-witnesses interviewed for this book gives the impression that more than 50,000 non-Bengalis perished in the March 1971 carnage. Thousands of dead bodies were flung into the Karnaphuli river and the Bay of Bengal.

Savage killings also took place in the Halishahar, Kalurghat and Pahartali localities where the Bengali rebel soldiers poured petrol and kerosine oil around entire blocks, igniting them with flame-throwers and petrol-soaked jute balls, then mowed down the non-Bengali innocents trying to escape the cordons of fire. In the wanton slaughter in the last week of March and early April, 1971, some 40,000 non-Bengalis perished in Chittagong and its neighbourhood. The exact death toll, which could possibly be much more will never be known because of the practice of burning dead bodies or dumping them in the river and the sea.

Blood And Tears - Stranded Pakistanis, Biharis, Stateless in Bangladesh and Pakistan

[asaad-ul-islam]

bengalis, indians, the entire world completely ignore the fate of biharis and all the other people living in east pakistan at the time. instead, we have outrageous claims of 3 million bengalis supposedly being slaughtered by the army in such a short span of time. what about the biharis? what about the punjabis, pakhtuns, and urdu-speaking people in east pakistan?

when our own fellow pakistani people refuse to acknowledge what happened to their brethern in east pakistan, when our own fellow pakistani people share condolences with these treacherous people who betrayed them to the enemies and slaughtered their own people, when our own fellow pakistani people refuse to let those stranded people in bangladesh back in who supported pakistan's cause so strongly, why shouldn't these people curse and despise Pakistan?

really, some people sicken me here by bringing up these types of threads to 'apologize' to bangladesh.

[cefarix]

Nobody denies that war crimes and atrocities took place on both sides. They started with as the article, some AL militants, eventually the PA took action, and the rebels committed atrocities against the PA soldiers and their innocent families, and then things got ugly both sides and India got involved. Caught in the middle were Biharis and other non-Bengalis, and even many Bengalis.

However, the facts are that this whole mess could have been avoided if the political and military leadership had not been engaged in power intrigues and had been genuinely concerned about the citizens of both West and East Pakistan. And the political and military stronghold was in the West. I feel that some of these people who were in power at the time and are still around today should answer to both Pakistanis and Bangladeshis because they betrayed both of us (even though I wasn't born at the time). Of course I understand that the Awami League's calls for a war crime trial are not based on any sense of justice but just another political power play. We shouldn't do any such thing on their initiative, but on our own.

[gromell]

I think Pakistan should drop diplomatic relations with Bangladesh if they keep their lame *** excuse that Pakistani War criminals should be tried..I am glad India and Pakistan made deal and no Pakistani POW was tried and every one was sent back home.Both sides committed war crimes.I still remember Sir Muradk post about a pilot who was killed by Rebels (They chopped his head off!).Both sides committed war crimes..

Chopping head off a pilot who belong to the enemy armed forces is not the same as bayoneting months year old babies or raping Muslim women or indiscriminately gunning down civilians.

Just as a curiosity, was the head in the 1st picture of the pilot?

[gromell]

bengalis, indians, the entire world completely ignore the fate of biharis and all the other people living in east pakistan at the time. instead, we have outrageous claims of 3 million bengalis supposedly being slaughtered by the army in such a short span of time. what about the biharis? what about the punjabis, pakhtuns, and urdu-speaking people in east pakistan?

when our own fellow pakistani people refuse to acknowledge what happened to their brethern in east pakistan, when our own fellow pakistani people share condolences with these treacherous people who betrayed them to the enemies and slaughtered their own people, when our own fellow pakistani people refuse to let those stranded people in bangladesh back in who supported pakistan's cause so strongly, why shouldn't these people curse and despise Pakistan?

really, some people sicken me here by bringing up these types of threads to 'apologize' to bangladesh.

Biharis enjoyed the status of special citizens when Pakistan Army was establishing their rule of carnage in '71. It was only after December 16, that Bengalis finally got the opportunity of some sweet revenge on Biharis. Neither of you was there in '71 and talk like you witnessed with your eyes. How many Biharis were there out of 70 million Bengalis? :S They were the least populous ethnicity in Pakistan at that time and they were not even in the picture of conflict. They decided to side with the destruction of Pakistan Army in 1971 and then after Pak army's days got over they received what they rightly deserved. Yet Pakistan did not accept them ater '71! Finally it was Bangladesh who gave them their rights(look at my posted picture below). The atrocities Biharis committed against Bengali population under the umbrella of Pakistan army was unimaginable. The US consul General Archer Blood wrote in 27th March, just 2 days after Pakistan Army started the rampage on innocent Bengali population, "Moreover, with the support of the Pak[istani] Military. non-Bengali Muslims are systematically attacking poor people's quarters and murdering Bengalis and Hindus".
(U.S. Consulate (Dacca) Cable, Selective genocide, March 27, 1971[http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB79/BEBB1.pdf])

Imagine what those Bihari criminals did in rest of the nine months if they made an US consulate, someone who might have been defending Pakistan violently in UN, write a letter to state department in Washington within 2 days after the conflict started!!!!

Biharis who think they belong to Pakistan are living in Geneva camp in Dhaka, unharmed. Biharis who think they belong to Bangadesh are living proudly in Bangladesh. I had Bihari friends in Dhaka and they are living in some of the best states in there. Atahar Ali Khan, the cricket commentator and formar batsman is ethnically Bihari but he is one of the most proud Bangladeshi voices in international stage. He represents Bangladesh as a proud Bangladeshi. When Rashid Latif, the pakistani wicketkeeper cheated against Bangladesh in Multan test, he was the first one to notice it and criticized in the strongest language.

Biharis who killed, raped and looted were punished after December 16. If you have problem with that, go to Swat valley and consult with the authority regarding the limit and implementation of punishment on criminals.

In the picture below a "former Pakistani stranded refugee woman Parvin shows her national identity card after becoming a citizen of Bangladesh. Bangladesh Election Commission has registered the 160,000 Urdu-speaking stranded Pakistanis". News and picture by Corbis.

[gromell]

In such a civil conflict, atrocities occur on both sides (some more than others). If the regular foces committed atrocities, it is also true that irregular mukti bahnis must have too.

Bengladesh should first start with trying the war criminals both razakars and mukti bahnis, that live in its own borders, to facilitate reconciliation. Once it has set up a system, and tried any wrongdoers in Bengladesh, only then do they have the moral right to ask Pakistan to try any criminals that may reside there.

What victorious sides try their own force? Russians raped more German women after the fall of Berlin than German soldiers raped Russian woman during the war. Which Russian was convicted? Pakistan Army was operating in Bangladesh whereas Mukti Bahini was operating in its own population against Pakistan Army, not in West Pakistan. Use some logic at least, if you really do not believe in eye witness accounts.

[salman nedian]

Biharis enjoyed the status of special citizens when Pakistan Army was establishing their rule of carnage in '71. It was only after December 16, that Bengalis finally got the opportunity of some sweet revenge on Biharis. Neither of you was there in '71 and talk like you witnessed with your eyes. How many Biharis were there out of 70 million Bengalis? :S They were the least populous ethnicity in Pakistan at that time and they were not even in the picture of conflict. They decided to side with the destruction of Pakistan Army in 1971 and then after Pak army's days got over they received what thy rightly deserved. Yet Pakistan did not accept them ater '71! Finally it was Bangladesh who gave them their rights(look at my posted picture below). The atrocities Biharis carried on Bengali population under the umbrella of Pakistan army was unimaginable. The US consul General Archer Blood wrote in 27th March, just 2 days after Pakistan Army started the rampage on innocent Bengali population, "Moreover, with the support of the Pak[istani] Military. non-Bengali Muslims are systematically attacking poor people's quarters and murdering Bengalis and Hindus".
(U.S. Consulate (Dacca) Cable, Selective genocide, March 27, 1971[http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB79/BEBB1.pdf])

Imagine what those Bihari criminals did in rest of the nine months if they made an US consulate, someone who might have been defending Pakistan violently in UN, write a letter to state department in Washington within 2 days after the conflict started!!!!

Biharis who think they belong to Pakistan are living in Geneva camp in Dhaka, unharmed. Biharis who think they belong to Bangadesh are living proudly in Bangladesh. I had Bihari friends in Dhaka and they are living in some of the best states in there. Atahar Ali Khan, the cricket commentator and formar batsman is ethnically Bihari but he is one of the most proud Bangladeshi voice in international stage. He represents Bangladesh as a proud Bangladeshi. When Rashid Latif, the pakistani wicketkeeper cheated against Bangladesh in Multan test, he was the first one to notice it and criticized in the strongest language.

Biharis who killed, raped and looted were punished after December 16. If you have problem with that, go to Swat valley and consult with the authority regarding the limit and implementation of punishment on criminals.

In the picture below a "former Pakistani stranded refugee woman Parvin shows her national identity card after becoming a citizen of Bangladesh. Bangladesh Election Commission has registered the 160,000 Urdu-speaking stranded Pakistanis". News and picture by Corbis.

What should be done to those who killed and raped innocent west Pakistanis?

[dabong1]

Hey as a Bangladeshi I understand your emotion and most of us want to forget the ugly past and move on for better future but unfortunatly we have a party called awami league that bring this dead issue over and over to score some political gain becasue without this issue they have nothing else left for their dirty politics.

I dont think it is a dead issue.....people commited very bad crimes during the bangladesh war and nobody till date has been charged with anything.
This issue has to be addressed for us to really move forward.

Pakistan point of view on war crime trial : It’s not the right time
Any chance on telling us when it will be the right time?.....some sort of a timeframe would be helpful.

The bangladesh govt should also have a list of benglai people involved in the killings just even things out a bit.......having just a list of pakistanis is not going to get the pak govt to o move on the issue.

[salman nedian]

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The people who must be punished for all this are Yahya Khan, Shaikh Mujib-ur-Rehman, and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who unfortunately are not alive so how many people we will punish? Thousands of Pakistani soldiers and thousands of Bengali rebels?