Pakistan media under Army-ISI influence sidesteps issues raised by Bangladesh PM on 1971 war crimes

New Delhi: Pakistan media under influence of its Army and ISI deliberately sidestepped remarks by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on atrocities in 1971 in erstwhile East Pakistan during her meeting with Pak envoy to Dhaka.

Hasina had said Bangladesh cannot forget and forgive atrocities committed by Pakistan in 1971 when Pakistani High Commissioner Imran Ahmed Siddiqui called on her at the Gono Bhaban.

However, there was a distinct difference in the way the meeting was covered by the media in the two countries.


"Incidents of 1971 cannot be forgotten or forgiven," PM said, according to a press release issued by the Press Wing of the Prime Minister's Office.

While the top Bangladeshi media houses, including The Daily Star, Dhaka Tribune, bdnews24.com, and New Age, among others, reported quoting state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) and privately run news agency United News Bangladesh (UNB), and covered the above mentioned remarks, Pakistani news media, curiously, left out the remarks made by PM Hasina on Pakistan's atrocities in 1971.

The reports published in the Pakistani news outlets, including Dawn, The News and Geo News, among others, did not mention what she said about how Bangladesh perceives the war crimes committed by Pakistani forces in the 1971 Liberation War.

The Pakistani media stressed that the Bangladesh premier had "called for strengthening ties with Pakistan" which is deliberate misrepresentation of facts.

On UN International Day of Victims of Genocide on 9 Dec, the Indian Permanent envoy to UN TS Tirumurti tweeted, “Let’s pay homage to 3 million killed & 200,000 or more women raped in erstwhile East Pakistan by Pakistan army & religious militias in 1971 in most horrific episode in human history. Never again @UN_GP_RtoP #PreventGenocide.”