Pakistan Withdraws Diplomat After Bangladesh Protests
DHAKA (AFP) - Pakistan on Thursday recalled a senior diplomat from Dhaka following protests and outrage over his remarks about atrocities committed during Bangladesh's 1971 independence war.
"We regret the controversy surrounding the reported remarks of the Pakistan deputy high commissioner," a Pakistani foreign office spokesman said in Islamabad amid protests and calls for the expulsion of Irfan-ur-Raja for his remarks at a seminar in Dhaka early this week.
"In the circumstances it has become impossible for the officer to carry out his duties and responsibilities as a member of the High Commission. The government has, therefore, decided to transfer him from Dhaka," the spokesman said.
The decision was conveyed to the Bangladesh High Commission in Islamabad, he said.
Raja reportedly said at the seminar on Monday that atrocities committed during Bangladesh's independence war were sparked by "miscreants" from the country's ruling party and not by the Pakistani army.
He also went on to question whether Pakistan should be made to apologize for crimes against humanity, as demanded by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed and others.
Bangladesh, formerly known as East Pakistan, blames troops from West Pakistan for several massacres of civilians during the nine-month war.
Earlier diplomatic sources in Dhaka said Bangladesh was awaiting a reply from Islamabad after the diplomat made "injurious" remarks about atrocities committed during the war.
A letter protesting his comments had been handed to the Pakistan embassy, a Bangladeshi diplomat said.
Islamabad had earlier called for putting the "tragic past" aside and forging ahead with stronger relations.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abdus Samad Azad said in return: "The question does not arise of forgetting the past.
"We don't accept such an approach by Pakistan," the official BSS news agency quoted him as saying late Wednesday.
The minister added, "there is limit to our patience" and warned Islamabad would be held responsible for any damage to bilateral ties.
Azad, at a press conference earlier Thursday said: "I can only say I am angry and his [Raja's] comments are unfortunate and uncalled for."
Asked whether Bangladesh had called for the diplomat's withdrawal in its protest note, Azad said "not officially, but indications are there."
Meanwhile, police stopped a small group of supporters from the leftwing Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal from marching to the Pakistani High Commission in the Gulshan diplomatic area.
They torched a Pakistani flag before dispersing without incident.
Widespread demonstrations followed with the media and several professional and political groups calling for Raja's expulsion because his comments added "insult to injury."
Bangladesh won independence after a bitter and bloody nine-month war led by the country's founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, father of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Dhaka-Islamabad ties have been strained since Sheikh Hasina spoke against military dictatorships at the United Nations this year and later demanded Pakistan apologize for the 1971 crimes.
