Apology from Pakistan
This refers to the article titled, "Forget 1971 - says Pakistan" published in your daily on 20th May. I must clarify that I am a Pakistani individual presently living in Dhaka and do not officially represent anyone in this letter. I may dare, however, claim that the thoughts expressed below will echo most favourably among the silent majority of Pakistanis, especially the members of its fledgling civil society and particularly the people who are still being systematically disenfranchised, brutalised and tortured by the establishment there.
I am in full agreement with what the article says and am abhorred at the atrocities committed against the Bengali people in 1971. I would go a step further and strongly condemn the systemic discrimination and economic and political exploitation to which the people of former East Pakistan were subjected. The denial by successive regimes in owning up to -and apologising for- the violence perpetrated by the establishment against Bengali people is a futile effort at glossing over the sordid events of 1971 in this age of information revolution.
The mind control device of distorted history will surely give way soon and the common Pakistani will see the truth. This may not however, automatically translate into an immediate change in the stance of the establishment in Pakistan because of the weakness of democratic culture there. The voices of sanity (and therefore dissent) have been muffled through tyranny in the past. Among the numerous people who spoke up forcefully against the atrocities in Bengal, the most notable is the late poet Ahmad Faraz who addressed the establishment as : paishawar qaatilo tum sipahi nahin (you are professional hit-men, not soldiers) and was arrested and tortured for that.
I am of the view that tendering of an apology by Pakistan will not only help build bridges between the two nations but will also infuse a healthy tradition in Pakistani polity, helping it to mature to face its past demons and learn how to avoid them in the future. In the end, as a Pakistani, I follow the tradition set by a delegation of Pakistani civil society members in 2007 in Dhaka and tender a heartfelt apology to my Bangladeshi brethren for all the violence perpetrated against them and beg forgiveness. I hope that this will be followed by a more collective and official apology by my country.
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