Pakistan 'seriously concerned'

Pakistan has finally voiced  “serious concern” over the award of death sentence to Jamaat-e-Islami Chief Motiur Rahman Nizami though it initially followed the policy of non-interference over what it termed was Dhaka's internal matter.

“Though what happens in Bangladesh is that country's internal matter, Pakistan cannot remain divorced from references to 1971 and its aftermath -- almost 45 years after those tragic chain of events, the Bangladeshi government still seems to be living in the past and totally ignoring the time-tested virtue of forgive and forget,” a strong-worded statement of the Interior Ministry on Saturday quoted its minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan as saying.

“One fails to understand why the Bangladeshi government is hell bent upon digging the graves of the past and reopening old wounds. It seems obvious to any independent observer that the recent events in Bangladesh are a manifestation of serious political violations, which are being inflicted on JI [Jamaat-e-Islami] Bangladesh for events before the separation of Bangladesh,” he  said.

Khan said he was “deeply saddened to receive this shocking news and believe that the government of Bangladesh has misused the process of law as a political tool against the JI leader”.

Interestingly, the statement didn't come from Pakistan's diplomatic authorities and appeared in stark contradiction with the policy adopted by the Foreign Office.

On Thursday, FO spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told a weekly press briefing, “We are mindful of the developments in Bangladesh. While we do not comment on internal matters in other countries, we have noted the comments and reports of international community and human rights organisations about the trial processes.”