Why the arrival of a Pakistani cargo ship in Bangladesh could mark a turning point in the subcontinent’s history

This shift, however, has been connected the cards ever since the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina successful August this year.

The shadiness of 1971

The shadiness of 1971 has agelong loomed ample implicit the bilateral narration betwixt Bangladesh and Pakistan.

During the nine-month agelong Mukti Juddho (Liberation War) successful 1971, the Pakistani subject and its collaborators committed innumerable atrocities, the memories of which are profoundly imprinted successful Bangladesh’s nationalist psyche. Some 3 cardinal radical were killed, thousands were tortured and raped, and millions fled their homes to flight Pakistani brutality.

Pakistan has ne'er apologised oregon expressed regret for its crimes — to the detriment of the bilateral narration betwixt Dhaka and Islamabad.

Bangladeshi-American governmental idiosyncratic Ali Riaz told The Diplomat successful 2021, “A amended narration [between the 2 countries] requires Pakistan’s inaugural to code the 1971 war, particularly the genocide perpetrated by the army… [an] unconditional nationalist apology from Pakistan is agelong overdue … No federation tin determination guardant without confronting its acheronian past”.

Instead, Islamabad has gone to large lengths to displacement the absorption from its atrocities to the relation of New Delhi successful the momentous events of 1971. In the Pakistani narrative, Bangladesh’s War of Liberation was an Indian conspiracy to interruption Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Pakistan project, not a warfare waged by an oppressed radical against their oppressor.

This communicative serves the involvement of the Pakistani military, which has for decades utilized the India bogey to amass much and much powerfulness successful the country’s polity — and makes immoderate imaginable apology for warfare crimes unlikely. For Pakistan’s civilian governments, specified an apology would necessitate governmental superior astir (if any) bash not have.

But fixed however the Liberation War has remained — astatine slightest till precise precocious — a precise emotive contented successful Bangladesh politics, improving relations successful lack of a due apology has proved to beryllium difficult.

Hasina, Pakistan & India

Bilateral relationships person been peculiarly sour nether definite governments successful Dhaka, astir notably, nether Sheikh Hasina, cardinal to whose governmental docket was seeking justness for atrocities perpetrated during the Liberation War.

During her clip successful bureau (1996-2001, 2009-2024) she ruthlessly prosecuted “collaborators” oregon razakars for their warfare crimes successful 1971. She acceptable up the International Crimes Tribunal successful 2010 to prosecute warfare criminals, and besides banned the historically pro-Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami.

In 2013, Jamaat person Abdul Quader Mollah was convicted by the ICT of sidesplitting 344 civilians and different warfare crimes. He became the archetypal of galore razakars to beryllium executed during Hasina’s reign. Pakistan’s Interior Minister astatine the time, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, described Mollah’s execution arsenic “very unfortunate” saying that “there is nary uncertainty that helium was hanged due to the fact that of his loyalty and solidarity with Pakistan successful 1971”.

This, of course, did not spell down good with Hasina and successful Bangladesh. After the Pakistan National Assembly passed a solution condemning Mollah’s execution, Hasina said that this “proved that it ne'er accepted the triumph of Bangladesh successful the Liberation War of 1971, and they inactive person allies successful Bangladesh,” The Daily Star reported.

Simultaneously, Hasina besides brought Bangladesh ever person to India. Courtesy New Delhi’s assistance to the Mukti Bahini successful the Bangladesh Liberation War, India had ever held a peculiar spot successful the hearts of galore Bangladeshis. Hasina herself enjoys a adjacent idiosyncratic narration with the Nehru-Gandhi family, and she was fixed structure successful New Delhi aft her begetter Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s assassination successful 1975.

During Hasina’s tenure, her clampdown connected coercion and spiritual extremism was the strategical glue that bound successive Indian governments to her regime, and fostered greater economical and taste cooperation.

A caller opening for Pakistan

Three facts astir Hasina’s ouster successful September are notable successful discourse of what is happening now.

First, Hasina for the longest clip had reaped governmental mileage from her enactment and family’s publication successful Bangladesh’s liberation. But arsenic the students’ protests showed, branding protestors arsenic razakars simply did not enactment amidst existent economical and societal concerns plaguing the country’s population. For the younger procreation of Bangladeshis, who did not themselves unrecorded done Pakistan’s oppression and the Liberation War, the contented seems to beryllium acold little resonant than it utilized to beryllium for erstwhile generations.

Second, determination was besides immoderate resentment among Bangladeshis for Hasina “cozying up” to New Delhi. Many felt that India was excessively progressive successful the country’s matters, and immoderate of the rage directed astatine Hasina manifested successful presumption of what has been described arsenic an “anti-India” sentiment. For instance, a mob successful August vandalised and torched the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC), the hub of Indian taste enactment successful the Bangladeshi superior for implicit 5 decades.

Third, determination has ever existed a number communicative successful Bangladesh that saw the events of 1971 not successful presumption of a War of Liberation and the triumph of Bengali nationalism, but arsenic a calamity of the Muslim federation and a betrayal of the founding committedness of Partition. The Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami, which opposed the instauration of Bangladesh and collaborated with the Pakistan army, has a beardown beingness successful the post-Hasina dispensation successful Dhaka.

For the powers that are successful Pakistan, each of this makes the concern perfect for extending a affable manus to Bangladesh. Multiple Pakistani editorials and op-eds person made this lawsuit successful the months pursuing Hasina’s departure from Dhaka.

“Clearly, the clip has travel to widen a manus of relationship towards Bengalis and Bangladesh… The bitter feelings of 1971 should beryllium acceptable speech by some Pakistan and Bangladesh to rebuild their relations,” retired Pakistani diplomat Burhanul Islam wrote successful a quality portal Paradigm Shift.

The interim authorities successful Dhaka too, truthful far, has responded positively to Islamabad’s overtures. Interim Prime Minister Muhammad Yunus met his Pakistani counterpart Shehbaz Sharif astatine the United Nations General Assembly successful New York successful September, wherever helium emphasised upon the request to revitalise bilateral cooperation, and crook a “new page”.