�Probe against 195 Pakistani war crime accused soon�
The International Crimes Tribunal probe agency said yesterday that investigation against 195 war-crime accused would begin in due time. Weve collected preliminary papers and documents against them. Well start formal investigations after getting the directive from the government, said Abdul Hannan Khan, chief coordinator of the investigation agency of war crimes, at a press briefing in the city. He said they have been collecting any information on these war-crime accused which may crop up during investigation into other war crimes cases. The investigation agency organised the press briefing to disclose its final investigation report against eight persons, including former Jamaat MP ASM Abdul Aziz, for committing crimes against humanity during the War of Liberation.
In response to a query, Khan said that the investigation agency could not do anything against the alleged war criminals, as Bangladesh and Pakistan are now two separate nations. Hence, we cant do anything but collect the papers and documents against them, he added. Its necessary to conduct the trial of 195 Pakistani prisoners for war crimes for their crimes against humanity during the War of Liberation in 1971, Khan said. After independence, Bangladesh had collected specific evidence of genocide against the 195 Pakistani soldiers and they were in the custody of India as prisoners of war. After long negotiations over these prisoners of war, Bangladesh finally signed a tripartite agreement in Delhi in April, 1974, saying that it would not proceed with the trials as an act of clemency having regard to the appeal of the Prime Minister of Pakistan to the people of Bangladesh to forgive and forget the mistakes of the past.
