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Bangladesh Expels Senior Pakistani Diplomat
by Golam Tahaboor
DHAKA (AFP) - A senior Pakistani diplomat was expelled from Dhaka Friday, hours after he was declared persona non-grata for remarks he made nearly three weeks ago about Bangladesh's 1971 independence war, which sparked nationwide protests.
A scheduled Biman flight carrying the diplomat, Irfan-ur Raja, left Dhaka for Dubai at around 11:00 p.m. (1700 GMT), an airline official said.
Scores of police were posted at the capital's Zia International Airport ahead of the diplomat's departure.
In the first time Bangladesh has ever expelled a senior foreign diplomat, Raja was declared persona non-grata on Friday prompting immediate protests from Islamabad.
Bangladeshi authorities have repeatedly called for Raja's immediate withdrawal following remarks he made at a seminar on November 27th that atrocities committed during the 1971 war were provoked by "miscreants" from Bangladesh's current ruling party, and not by the Pakistani army.
"I do not understand why the diplomat is still staying on the soil of Bangladesh. He should be withdrawn immediately," Foreign Minister Abdus Samad Azad demanded last week.
Pakistan's high commissioner, Iqbal Ahmed Khan, was summoned to the foreign ministry in the morning and told the activities of his deputy, Raja, were "incompatible" with his diplomatic status, a ministry source reported.
Home Minister Mohammad Nasim was quoted by the official BSS news agency as ordering Raja to leave by Friday night.
"If the Pakistani diplomat fails to leave Bangladesh by today, I. as home minister of Bangladesh, direct you, the police, to force him to board a plane and leave the country," he warned.
Nasim said he wanted the diplomat to leave "before the country celebrates the 29th anniversary of its victory over the Pakistani occupation forces in 1971."
Bangladesh is set to celebrate its Victory Day marking the anniversary of the end of its nine-month independence war against Pakistan on Saturday.
In Islamabad, a foreign office spokesman said the expulsion was "unjustified" and "not keeping with the spirit of friendly relations between the two countries."
"The decision of the Bangladesh government that the deputy high commissioner should leave today is therefore surprising and unjustified," the spokesman said.
The diplomat was recalled by Islamabad on November 30th, but has not been seen in public since. Newspaper reports suggested he was delaying his departure.
Bangladesh, formerly known as East Pakistan, blames troops from the former West Pakistan for several massacres of civilians during the war.
Bangladesh won independence after a bitter and bloody war led by the country's founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Dhaka-Islamabad ties have been strained since Sheikh Hasina spoke out against military dictatorships at the United Nations this year and later demanded Pakistan apologize for the alleged 1971 crimes.
In announcing Raja's recall, Islamabad said it regretted "the controversy surrounding the reported remarks of the Pakistan deputy high commissioner."
"In the circumstances it has become impossible for the officer to carry out his duties and responsibilities as a member of the High Commission," it said in a statement.
The Bangladeshi foreign ministry source said Raja's expulsion was in accordance with diplomatic rules in the Vienna Convention.
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