Dhaka demands $4.52b in financial claims from Islamabad

Bangladesh urged Pakistan to take a “strong forward-looking approach” for bilateral ties by addressing unresolved historical issues, including a formal apology for the 1971 Liberation War genocide and settling outstanding financial claims of Bangladesh.

“We have raised the historically unresolved issues with Pakistan,” Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin told newsmen after a foreign office consultation (FOC) with his Pakistan counterpart Amna Baloch on Thursday.

He said the issues included “the repatriation of stranded Pakistanis, equitable distribution of undivided assets, transfer of foreign aid funds sent for the victims of the 1970 cyclone, and a formal public apology for the genocide committed by the then Pakistani military in 1971”.

“We (Dhaka said this is the right time to settle the historical unsettled issues,” the Bangladesh foreign secretary said, adding these issues needed to be resolved for having a “solid foundation of our relations” for mutual benefits and interests.

This was the first foreign secretary-level Dhaka-Islamabad FOC in 15 years, and after the talks with the visiting Pakistani foreign secretary called on Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus and Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain separately and discussed issues of mutual interest.