TDS Desk:

Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain has asserted that Bangladesh “certainly does not agree” with the claim made by Ishaq Dar, the deputy prime minister and foreign minister in Pakistan, that two of the three unresolved issues from 1971, including an apology from Pakistan for the genocide, were settled long ago.

“As for the unresolved issues, I want to say that the matter was first settled in 1974. The document of that time is historic for both countries,” he said while speaking to reporters after a meeting with Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain at a Dhaka hotel on Sunday afternoon (August 24).

“Later, General Pervez Musharraf came here [to Bangladesh] and openly and candidly resolved the matter. So, the issue has been resolved twice – once in 1974 and again in the early 2000s,” he added.

In response to a question on whether Bangladesh agrees with the Pakistani foreign minister’s remarks, Adviser Touhid Hossain said, “Certainly not. We have presented our position, and they have presented theirs.”

When asked about Bangladesh’s position, he said, “We have raised the issues of assets owed, an apology or expression of regret for 1971, and the repatriation of stranded Pakistani citizens.”

“However, regarding the stranded citizens, there is a High Court verdict. Migration experts have long been urging a solution in light of that ruling. We will hold further discussions on this matter in the future,” he added.

He also said that Bangladesh and Pakistan have agreed to resolve long-standing unresolved issues through dialogue in order to advance bilateral relations.

“It would be wrong to expect that 54 years of problems will be solved in a single day. 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. Both countries have presented their respective positions on these issues,” the adviser told journalists at a press conference at the Foreign Service Academy after the meeting with Ishaq Dar.

“However, both countries have agreed that in order to move relations forward, the historical issues must be resolved through discussion,” he added.

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar arrived in Dhaka yesterday afternoon (23 August) on a two-day official visit aimed at strengthening bilateral relations, marking the first state visit to Bangladesh in 13 years.

Bangladesh and Pakistan signed an agreement, four memorandums of understanding (MoUs), and a cultural exchange programme in Dhaka on Sunday (August 24 ).