Dhaka, Aug 25 Bangladesh’s Awami League on Monday accused the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government of adopting an “anti-Liberation War” and “anti-national” stance by attempting to “Pakistanise” the nation.
This came as Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar visited Bangladesh and met with the top leadership of the interim government, as well as the major political parties of the South Asian Nation.
Slamming the Yunus regime, the Awami League accused it of making “heinous” attempts to misinterpret the history of the Liberation War and to “erase its memory” from society.
“The destructive activities of these anti-national forces prove that no one except the Awami League has the capacity to protect the spirit and aspirations of the Great Liberation War of Bangladesh,” the party added.
Dar, following his meeting with the interim government’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Touhid Hossain, told the reporters that Dhaka’s long-standing demand for an apology over the 1971 genocide had already been resolved twice in the past. Additionally, there was no mention of the genocide issue in Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry’s statement on the conclusion of Dar’s visit.
The 1971 Bangladeshi genocide, perpetrated by the Pakistan Army, was the ethnic cleansing of Bengalis residing in then East Pakistan during the Liberation War..
The Awami League slammed the interim government for promoting the false narrative of the Pakistani agenda to “belittle” the national struggle for independence.
“After illegally seizing state power in violation of the Constitution, the fascist Yunus clique allowed pro-Pakistan extremist communal militant groups to expand. Bangladesh began to be run under a Pakistani prescription,” it said.
The party added that these extremist militant forces resorted to spreading a “false narrative of so-called ‘anti-India’ sentiment”, while the collective achievement of the Bengali nation’s independence was maliciously branded as a conspiracy orchestrated by India.
It said that by calling Bangladesh’s hard-earned independence a conspiracy, the pro-Pakistani extremists “shamelessly belittled the heroic national struggle.”
Citing a report on Bangladesh’s Liberation War published in Pakistan-based media outlet The Catchline, the Awami League raised concern over the narrative surrounding the remark, “Now is the time to bring East Pakistan back to its natural state.”
“Over the past year, the visible presence of the Pakistani ambassador at various events, and the subversive activities of Pakistani politicians and ministers regarding Bangladesh have been alarming. While the illegal usurper government — which destroyed everything related to the Liberation War — made a hollow show of asking Pakistan for an apology for the 1971 genocide, Pakistan’s foreign minister arrogantly dismissed it as a ‘settled issue’,” read a statement issued by the Awami League.
Earlier on Sunday, the Pakistani Foreign Minister also met Chief Advisor Yunus just after Dar asserted that the 1971 genocide issue between the two nations had been resolved twice in the past.
The Awami League slammed the Yunus administration for failing to register even a “minimal protest” against the claim, reducing the matter into a farce.
The party further questioned why the “foreign-serving” interim government shows such submissiveness to Pakistan, and why the defeated force in Islamabad is again being given a chance to play with the fate of Bangladesh, when it continues to question the country’s independence and sovereignty.
According to the Awami League, Pakistani political leaders, military and civil bureaucrats, and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) continue their subversive activities regarding Bangladesh, seeking to discredit the 1971 Liberation War.
The party stressed that the interim government’s special leanings toward Pakistan threaten to endanger the very achievements of Bangladesh.
“The brutal atrocities and barbarities committed by the Pakistani rulers and occupation forces during our glorious Liberation War cannot be sidelined in the name of cordial relations. Such attempts dishonour the sacrifice of the martyrs and ignore history,” the party added.
The Awami League also called on the people to unite and resist the conspiracies being propagated by the pro-Pakistani extremists.
(Auto generated news from IANS Feed. This has not been edited by enewstime desk)
