DHAKA, Apr 16 : As Bangladesh and Pakistan prepare to hold landmark Foreign Secretary-level talks, their first in 15 years, Dhaka is preparing to formally demand $4.52 billion from Islamabad as part of its financial claim from the pre-independence years as well as a formal apology for the Bengali genocide unleashed by the Pakistan Army in 1971.
The issues will be formally raised during the Foreign Secretary-level talks slated for April 17 in Dhaka, marking the first such meeting between the two countries in 15 years, according to The Daily Star.
Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch will meet with her counterpart Jashim Uddin in Dhaka tomorrow, where they will discuss a whole range of bilateral issues.
The meeting comes ahead of the high-profile two-day visit of Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to Dhaka on April 27, the first by a Pakistani Foreign Minister since the last visit by Hina Rabbani Khar in 2012.
The $4.52 billion that Bangladesh plans to demand from Islamabad covers aid, employee funds, and savings from the pre-independence years.
According to Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry officials, one of the most significant claims involves the $200 million foreign aid which was sent to what was then East Pakistan after the devastating 1970 Bhola cyclone. However, the money was instead diverted to Lahore in the then West Pakistan, during the 1971 India-Pakistan war.
The foreign ministry has compiled detailed evidence from the Bangladesh Bank to substantiate its case, identifying the various components of the outstanding amount. The issue is also expected to be raised during the Foreign Minister-level talks later this month.
While Bangladesh has several times asked Pakistan to hand over the fair share owed to it in both damages as well as assets from the pre-liberation years, Islamabad has never bothered to give any of the money owed.
A letter issued from Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry read out both the previous demands as well as the obligations from the post-71 years, which Dhaka had honoured.
“The last foreign secretary-level meeting between Bangladesh and Pakistan took place in 2010. Even then, Dhaka reiterated its claim for a fair share of undivided Pakistan’s assets. Bangladesh also pressed for a formal apology for the 1971 genocide and the repatriation of stranded Pakistanis.”
“According to foreign ministry records, based on population alone, Bangladesh was entitled to 56% of those assets. If contributions to foreign exchange earnings are considered, the share stands at 54%, and by any parity principle, Bangladesh should be entitled to at least 50%,” the letter read.
“Adding to the grievance, the Bangladesh government honoured the obligations of various pre-independence instruments sold by the Pakistani government including defence savings certificates and income tax bonds effectively paying debts that it believes Pakistan should have settled,” it added.
Listing Islamabad’s dues, the letter stated: “As of 16 December 1971, the total value of currency in circulation was Rs870.58 crore, at least half of which, Bangladesh argues, is owed to it. Pakistan’s banking department alone owes Bangladesh Rs59.63 crore”.
It added “Bangladesh has assumed liability for Tk21.38 crore worth of debt securities issued by both central and provincial governments of pre-1971 Pakistan.”
Bangladesh will also demand a formal apology for the Bengali genocide unleashed by the Pakistan Army in 1971 during Operation Searchlight, where it killed an estimated three million Bengalis as well as raped over a million women.
(UNI)
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