In his first visit to Bangladesh since he seized power in a military coup in 1999, Pervez Musharraf wrote the comments, aimed at healing the lingering bitterness between the two, in a visitors’ book at a memorial for the war dead near Dhaka.
“Your brothers and sisters in Pakistan share the pains of the events of 1971. The excesses committed during the unfortunate period are regrettable,” Musharraf wrote after laying wreaths at the memorial at Savar, 25 km (15 miles) from Dhaka.
While falling short of the apology demanded by many Bangladeshis, this is the first time Pakistan has come close to saying sorry for its role in the bloody war in which millions died.
In a trip marked by a red-carpet welcome, Musharraf called on the Bangladeshi people to bury the past with a spirit of forgiveness.
Bangladesh was once known as East Pakistan and gained its independence from the western part of the country following the nine-month war in 1971, in which it was helped by Pakistan’s nuclear-armed foe India.
Bangladesh says up to three million Bengalis were killed and some 200,000 raped by Pakistani military and their collaborators, although Islamabad has said in the past this war number is exaggerated.
Can someone please give me a site or refernce to where I can get information about this war and the atrocities comitted by the Pakistani forces? Thanks…
there were no 'atrocities' committed by the Pakistani forces; of course there was widespread bloodshed and massacres and yes, rapes etc. but let's not forget that the people actually rebelled against the country, they were traitors at the time and were punishable for treason. And it was non other than the politicians who played with the sentiments in both wings and made the minority feel cornered and left out, they made the provinces fith with each other and get jealous, to their advantages and to the country's amputation. The Pakistani forces were merely the machinery used to carry out the politicians' evil designs, the military itself was not responsible for any such acts on its own. There were individual cases of mad rage etc by the forces but they were obviously a reaction to the actions of the India trained traitors of Mukti Bahini.
PAKISTAN doesnt have to apologize any more than Gen Musharraf already has, India by the way must offer formal apolgies to both Pakistan and Bangladesh for her unethical behaviour.
for detailed info on the 1971 crisis i'd reccomend the published HRC repor; but it's biased as the judges were under the political influence at the time and did their best to defame the army to save the arses of Bhutto & associates as best as they could.
Also read Gen (late) A. A. K. Niazi's book 'The betrayel of East Pakistan' (OUP).
You'll learn a lot about the whole thing.
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*Originally posted by Haris Zuberi: *
there were no 'atrocities' committed by the Pakistani forces; of course there was widespread bloodshed and massacres and yes, rapes etc. but let's not forget that the people actually rebelled against the country, they were traitors at the time and were punishable for treason.
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So by the same logic..will you say that There are no atrocities committed by Indians in pakistan.
Let me know how would you spin it??
Lajawab:Offical Bangladeshi stats say around a quarter a million Bangladeshis were killed in East Pakistan. Even the most conservative Pakistani estimates put the death toll at around 10-15,000. Which included a massacre of Dhaka University students and professors.
So by the same logic..will you say that There are no atrocities committed by Indians in pakistan.
Let me know how would you spin it??
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It's not for me to spin, Indians as per general perception, do not commit atrocities inside Pakistan, if they do so openly, there would be all out war (Leave out RAW and its activities, that's all undeclared and most often misreported). They do however commit severe atrocities in Kashmir.