ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Thursday lodged a strong protest against the hanging of Motiur Rahman Nizami by Bangladesh, on the alleged crimes committed before December 1971 through a “flawed judicial process.”
The Acting High Commissioner of Bangladesh was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Director General (South Asia and SAARC) and a strong protest was lodged at the unfortunate hanging, a statement from the Foreign Office said.
“The attempts by the Government of Bangladesh to malign Pakistan, despite our keen desire to develop brotherly relations with it, are regrettable,” Foreign Office said.
It pointed that the 1974 Tripartite Agreement was the cornerstone of relations between the two countries.
“It needs to be emphasized that, as part of the Agreement, the government of Bangladesh ‘decided not to proceed with the trials as an act of clemency’.”
Pakistan reiterates its desire for friendly relations with Bangladesh, the Foreign Office said.
Motiur Rahman was Nizami was convicted of leading a paramilitary group that sided with Pakistan Army against separatist forces in October 2014. He was hanged on Wednesday after Bangladesh’s Supreme Court upheld the verdict last week.
