Bangladesh presses Pakistan for 1971 war crimes apology, asset settlement during Dar’s visit

Bangladesh on Sunday raised long-pending issues including an apology for the 1971 Liberation War, during talks with visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, the most senior Islamabad leader to travel to Dhaka since 2012.

Dar, who is also deputy prime minister, arrived on Saturday for a two-day visit to rebuilding ties in the wake of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s ouster last year. He met Bangladesh’s interim Foreign Adviser M Touhid Hossain for discussions that covered historical disputes as well as trade and investment opportunities.

“We have raised unresolved issues such as an apology or expression of regret for 1971, claims over assets and the matter of stranded Pakistani citizens,” Hossain told reporters. He added that “both countries have presented their respective positions,” cautioning that problems of five decades could not be resolved “in a single day.”

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Dar, however, maintained that the 1971 questions had already been addressed, first in the 1974 tripartite talks with India, and later during former president Pervez Musharraf’s visit to Dhaka when he spoke openly about the genocide.

During the meeting, the two sides signed one agreement and five memorandums of understanding (MoUs). Hossain said Dhaka sought greater access to Pakistani markets under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA), including in textiles, energy, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and IT, while Islamabad discussed the prospect of exporting energy to Bangladesh.

The visit comes after years of strained relations under Hasina’s Awami League government, which pushed for trials of collaborators of Pakistani forces during the 1971 war. Ties began to thaw after Hasina was toppled by a student-led movement in August 2024, paving the way for interim chief adviser Muhammad Yunus to recalibrate Dhaka’s foreign policy as relations with India turned frosty.

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Dar also met leaders of opposition and Islamist parties in Dhaka, including the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP). Leaders of Jamaat and the NCP stressed that Pakistan must address outstanding 1971 issues for ties to move forward.

Hina Rabbani Khar was the last Pakistani foreign minister to visit Dhaka, in November 2012.

“With inputs from agencies