This year Bangladeshis celebrated their Victory Day with even greater fervour than usual. This year a number of infamous Bengalis who not simply supported the Pakistan regime but indulged in vicious crimes against humanity in 1971, were finally tried and executed. As we are a civilised nation with a long history we are happy because these criminals, some of whom once were cabinet ministers, finally faced justice. Revisiting Bangladesh-Pakistan relations
We cannot force them to apologise. However
if they do so it would be for their own good. Apart from a section of the feudal aristocracy, military and religious extremists, the horrors
of 1971 continue to trouble the deepest recesses of the collective conscience of decent Pakistanis
SYED MEHDI MOMIN
This year Bangladeshis celebrated their Victory Day with even greater fervour than usual. This year a number of infamous Bengalis who not simply supported the Pakistan regime but indulged in vicious crimes against humanity in 1971, were finally tried and executed. As we are a civilised nation with a long history we are happy because these criminals, some of whom once were cabinet ministers, finally faced justice.
Despite some minor hiccups the trials were of a transparent nature where the accused were given full opportunity to defend themselves. That is why Pakistan foreign offices statement criticising what is essentially Bangladeshs internal issue came as a surprise. I mean surely a line was crossed by the Islamic Republic. The statement also virtually said not war crimes or massacres took place and the country had nothing to apologise for.
So who actually killed all these people and raped all these women? Did some extra terrestrial force came down on Bangladeshi soil and perpetrated these atrocities? And if Pakistani authorities are still not prepared to offer formal apology then the relations between the two South Asian neighbours can never be cordial or brotherly.It is an irony of history that it was the Bengalis who were always at the forefront of the Pakistan movement. Indeed the Muslim League, which led the struggle based on the two nation theory was established in Dhaka. It was in Bengal that the first Muslim League led provincial government was formed. The people of the areas that now constitute the Islamic Republic of Pakistan were not too enthusiastic about the concept of a separate homeland for the South Asian Muslims, at least in the initial stages. Even Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was committed to the idea of Pakistan, like most of his fellow Bengali Muslims.
However the enthusiasm of the Bengalis was to be dampened soon enough and their optimism was to turn into disillusionment. The first blow came when Quaid E Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah (who was a greatly respected figure here at that time) ill-advisedly declared that Urdu and only Urdu shall be the state language of Pakistan
Now, Bengalis in general are a peaceful lot and we can tolerate a lot of things. However we hold our language, culture, our way of life, and perhaps even more importantly, justice dear. If anyone messes with these, the Bengalis will fight back hard. Even during the Mughal period the Bengalis rebelled time and again against the rulers injustice. There were strong protests against Jinnah at a time when it was nothing short of a blasphemy to speak against the man.
Unfortunately the ruling elite of West Pakistan never learnt to respect Bengalis and their values. The economic disparity between the two wings is too well documented to repeat here. Suffice to say that not too long after the establishment of Pakistan Bengalis felt that the British coloniser was replaced by a different type of coloniser one which was perhaps much worse than the British. They also noted with great anguish that while democracy flourished in neighbouring India in Pakistan the military, landed aristocracy and the bureaucracy combined to ensure that democracy could not grow in Pakistan.
Of course, I believe that the liberation of Bangladesh was inevitable. Pakistan was an absurd geographic entity that simply could not last. However the rulers did not help their cause too much by deliberately ignoring and humiliating the Bengalis at every step. Pakistan offers an object lesson against indulging procrustean nationalism, of which Pakistan remains a paragon. Created expressly to safeguard the Muslims of the subcontinent, Pakistan perpetrated the biggest genocide of Muslims since the arrival of Islam in south Asia. At least three million Bengalis were slaughtered by West Pakistani soldiers within a space of less than nine months in 1971.
The unfortunate thing for Pakistan is that in my personal experience and also according to many knowledgeable sources, many if not most common Pakistanisdespite the outright lies presented in their text books blaming mostly India and Bengali Hindus for the break-up of Pakistan do believe what their armed forced did in Bangladesh was something truly awful. In my visit to Pakistan a few years back I had the opportunity to speak to Pakistanis of different walks of life and the common people and the progressive intelligentsia were almost unanimous in their opinion that Pakistan, especially its armed forces had reasons to seek forgiveness.
There are those who did subscribe to the India/Hindu conspiracy theory but a significant number among even this lot also said Jo hua bahot bura hua. Zaroor Bangaliyon pe zulm hua (Whatever happened was bad, Definitely Bengalis were tortured.) Well even in 1971 at the height of atrocities leaders of the Pakistan Communist Party openly said Hum Maghribi Pakistan ke mazloomon ke saath haiWe are with the tortured people of East Pakistan.
Poets like Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Ahmad Faraz expressed their sorrow at what the army were doing. As a matter of fact even the conscientious army officers like Sahabzada Yaqub Khan, General Azam Khan, Khadim Hossain Raza, Admiral Ahsansome of course with the benefit of hindsight, said Pakistan army broke the norms of war and perpetrated brutality on people who they were supposed to protect.
Interestingly many Pakistani I talked to had great respect for Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Not all. Surely not most ex army personnel or politicos but the common educated people whom years of propaganda and brainwashing could not deprive of sanity.
Incidentally a few years back the then Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf during his visit to Bangladesh offered an apologyadmittedly a half-hearted one but an apology all the same. After laying a wreath at the National Martyrs Memorial outside Dhaka, dedicated to those killed in the war, he wrote in the official visitors book Your brothers and sisters in Pakistan share the pains of the events of 1971. The excesses committed during the unfortunate period are regrettable.
So Bangladesh had reasons to believe that the two countries can make a fresh start. There is undeniably much good for Pakistanis among Bangladeshis and vice versa. Take cricket as an example. When Bangladesh faces Pakistan in a match obviously every Bangladeshi wholeheartedly will support the Tigers. But say if Pakistan is playing South Africa for instance you can safely bet that the majority of Bangladeshi cricket lovers would like to see Pakistan emerge as victorious.
In the last cricket World Cup when Bangladesh beat England a number of cousins who live in Adelaide told me that many of the Pakistanis in the crowd were beside themselves with joy. For their part many Pakistani cricketers have said they really enjoy playing in Pakistan. Indeed almost all the current BPL teams are banking on Pakistani players.
Let us go back to the volte face from their foreign office. This defies common sense. However common sense is something that is apparently an alien concept for the Pakistani establishment. Actually if anything since 2012, matters have regressed. In 2013 on the 42nd anniversary of the what the Pakistani establishment calls Fall of Dhaka, the Bangladesh government was told by the National Assembly in Urdu a colonial language for the Bengali-speaking erstwhile East Pakistan not to rake up the memories of 1971.
Further, the National Assembly expressed its condolences for an executed Bangladeshi Jamaat-e-Islami leader convicted of committing war crimes in his support of Pakistan in 1971. While the assembly told the Bangladesh government to resolve cases against the Bangladeshi Jamaat-e-Islami amicably, the Pakistan Interior Minister was reported to have called the execution judicial murder. The latest protest by their ministry of foreign affairs was contemptible to say the least.
Pakistan does not have a fauji hukumat (military rule) at the helm now and a supposedly democratic dispensation is running things. It is understandable that they are sorry to see the people hanged who collaborated with their army. However the thing is that Bangladesh has been quite liberal in this regard. Nobody has been punished or even accused who supported Pakistan for their so-called ideological beliefs. Most collaborators were forgiven. It was only those who were accused of the vilest of crimes against their own people were brought to book. Except for some isolated episodes no mass scale lynching took place as is quite common at the end of bloody and brutal wars. By supporting these criminals the Pakistani authorities are supporting criminals.
And about the apology issue. Well we cannot force them to apologise. However if they do so it would be for their own good. Apart from a section of the feudal aristocracy, military and religious extremists, the horrors of 1971 continue to trouble the deepest recesses of the collective conscience of decent Pakistanis, fuelling anxieties about the countrys future and obstructing its emergence and transition into a tolerant and self-respecting society.
Todays Pakistan and its citizens are very different from what they were four decades ago. Transparency is important to the new generation. Going by the trends in social media, off-the-cuff discussions and conversations at academic gatherings, those who dare to care often question the rationale of the strategy employed by the Pakistani political and military leadership in Islamabad.
There are many young Pakistanis who have started to ask uncomfortable questions. How did the situation get out of control? Why did the military indulge in blatant rape, loot and plunder? Why were the Bengalis tortured, maimed and murdered by the ruthless and power-hungry soldiers from West Pakistan? Why the findings of the Hamoodur Rehman Report were not made public? With the leading elite and army of Pakistan being what it is these questions are heavily loaded and a healthy discussion may be out of the realm of possibility.
Some conscientious Pakistanis have started to crowd-source an apology in order to offer it to the people of Bangladesh. Building on the efforts of a handful of intelligentsia in August 1971 and the Womens Action Forum in 1996, an online apology, open for all to sign at any time in the future, allows for greater enfranchisement as well as hopefully more permanent memorialisation. The online apology reads: We Pakistanis apologise to Bangladeshis. We the undersigned Pakistanis deeply regret the atrocities committed in our name against the people of Bangladesh in 1970-71. Yours with utter humility.
Noted Pakistani journalist Ahson Saeed Hasan reflected the feelings of many Pakistanis when he wrote in his column in a leading Pakisani English newspaper I do not want daggers to come out or push people into an unnecessary roller coaster, soul searching ride, but I sometimes feel that it would be really nice if, as a gesture of goodwill toward the people of Bangladesh and to facilitate bringing down the political stress level in South Asia, Pakistan issues a statement apologising for the discriminatory treatment meted out to the East Pakistanis and the war crimes committed during those awfully hurtful years?
Isnt it the right time and place for the Pakistani leadership to put the fire out forever and, for a change, make headlines for the right reasons ? Such an act of benevolence and magnanimity would bring closure, put to rest any leftover harsh feelings between the two nations and harness better understanding for all times to come. It would start a process of healing and put populations not only in Pakistan and Bangladesh at ease but will do a world of good for the people of South Asia.
Well he is being overly optimistic in my view. An apology will not bring about all the changes that he envisages. However it will be a good start.
On a different note this writer does not agree with those knowledgeable people who are vigorously claiming that Bangladesh should snap off its diplomatic ties with Pakistan. However let us leave my reasons for a different article. Suffice it to say that India and Pakistan fought three wars but they did not break off their diplomatic relations. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman visited Pakistan many believe that certain local and foreign influential leaders advised Bangabandhu against taking the step in 1974 to attend the Islamic Summit in Lahore. He also invited Zulfikar Ali Bhutto the erstwhile Pakistani prime minister to visit this country even when everyone knew that Bhutto personally did all he could to cause physical harm to Bangabandhu.
I agree with a reader of this newspaper who in his letter to the editor said Bangladesh may opt for many ways to cope with Pakistans nefarious designs and intentions. But would it be prudent to take the extreme step of snapping diplomatic ties with Pakistan? Retaining diplomatic relations may bring dividends for both the countries in the longer run.
The writer is Assistant Editor of The Independent and can be contacted at: [email protected]
