Dhaka seeks Pakistani investment -- and apology for 1971

Dhaka, Feb 26 : Bangladesh has invited Pakistani entrepreneurs to invest in the country, but also wants Islamabad to resolve all outstanding issues -- including "formal apologies for the atrocities" committed during violent suppreession of its freedom movement in 1971.

Receiving new Pakistani High Commissioner Ashraf Qureshi Thursday, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni sought Pakistan's investment in pharmaceuticals, textiles, information and communication technologies, telecom and agro industries, news reports said Friday.

However, the Foreign Office statement after the meeting said, she expressed the hope that "the two countries would soon be able to resolve the outstanding issues like formal apologies by the Pakistan government for the atrocities committed in 1971, repatriation of stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh [and] division of assets".

"Pakistan is yet to fully comply with the agreement signed with Bangladesh and India on the 195 Pakistani war prisoners who were involved in war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide during the Liberation War in 1971 although Islamabad officially upholds the provisions of the agreement on war prisoners," the statement said.

Moni said Pakistan should hold trial of its own citizens who were engaged in "war crimes" - targeting unarmed civilians in the run-up to the freedom movement in 1971 when thousands were killed.

Dhaka is preparing to conduct its own trial of the Bangladeshis involved. Moni said this was unlikely to affect the bilateral ties with Pakistan.

New Age newspaper quoted Qureshi as saying that the trial was an internal affair of Bangladesh.

A special envoy of Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari had, however, last year warned against the trial, suggesting that Dhaka should drop it and move on.

Seeking exchange of visits by the prime ministers of the two countries, Qureshi said: "We have excellent bilateral relations; these are based on commonality in our history, in our culture, in our religion."