Bangladesh says keen on good ties with Pakistan but won't forget 1971

DHAKA: Bangladesh wants good relations with Pakistan but not at the cost of giving the impression that the horrors of 1971 have been forgotten, foreign affairs adviser Md Touhid Hossain said Tuesday of suggestions that interim govt may be keen to bury the hatchet.

"I think relations will be easier if they (Pak govt ) show the courage to refer to what happened in 1971 and say that they are seeking to apologise for it," he said while responding to a question at the ministry of foreign affairs. Hossain said chief adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus meeting Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Sept 25 didn't mean all was forgotten.

"It was a courtesy meeting... When we sit for a discussion, we will raise the difficult issues," the foreign affairs adviser said. "The current govt did not indicate in any way that Bangladesh is willing to build good relations by setting aside 1971. What happened in 1971 is always in our hearts."

Bangladesh's official position has always been that Pakistan should formally apologise for the atrocities perpetrated on unarmed Bengali-speaking people during the 1971 struggle.