Pakistan broke 1974 deal

Pakistan has violated the 1974 Tripartite Agreement by not taking back the stranded Pakistanis from Bangladesh, and so the agreement is no longer valid, Law Minister Anisul Huq said yesterday.

Under the agreement, Pakistan was supposed to take them home, but it did not comply with the condition, said Anisul. “The law says that a deal becomes invalid if anyone violates any of its condition. So, this agreement is no longer acceptable.”

Tureen Afroz, a prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal which is trying the perpetrators of the 1971 crimes, said the tripartite agreement was invalid both under national and international laws.

Their comments come in the wake of Pakistan's allegations that Bangladesh is executing the war criminals in violation of the said agreement between Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.

They were talking to reporters after a programme at BILIA auditorium in the capital.

A day after the execution of Jamaat chief Motiur Rahman Nizami for war crimes, including mass killing, Pakistan national parliament on May 11 passed a resolution to express serious concerns over the execution.

Diplomatic tensions between Dhaka and Islamabad seem to be escalating since, with each government summoning the other's envoy to lodge strong protests over the issue.

After liberation, Bangladesh collected specific evidence of genocide against at least 195 Pakistani army personnel, who were in Indian custody as prisoners of war (POWs). After a long-drawn negotiation, a tripartite agreement was signed in Delhi in April 1974, and as per the agreement, Pakistan took back the POWs.

However, the minister said there was nothing in the agreement about the local collaborators of the Pakistan army, who are now facing trial and execution. 

On May 13, Pakistan prime minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said the country would raise the issue of hanging of Nizami before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and other countries.

Asked what would be the stance of Bangladesh if Pakistan did so, the minister said: “Our stance will remain the same. This [trial] is our internal issue. They are being tried and executed in line with our domestic law.”

“Pakistan shouldn't talk about our internal matters. It is better if they keep their mouth shut. If they fail to show such maturity, then, I think, the world will condemn them,” he added.

Tureen Afroz said the agreement had no validity as Bangladesh parliament did not endorse it.

As per the section 53 of the Vienna Convention-1969 to which Bangladesh is a signatory, there are some crimes that cannot be forgiven by any government, and genocide is one of them, she added.