Pakistan voices ‘serious concern’ over Bangladesh Jamaat chief’s sentence

Pakistan on Saturday finally voiced its ‘serious concern’ over the award of death sentence to Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Bangladesh chief Motiur Rahman Nizami, despite initially following the policy of non-interference over what it termed was Dhaka’s internal matter.
“Though what happens in Bangladesh is that country’s internal matter, Pakistan cannot remain divorced from references to 1971 and its aftermath –almost 45 years after those tragic chain of events, the Bangladeshi government still seems to be living in the past and totally ignoring the time-tested virtue of forgive and forget,” a strong-worded statement from the Interior Ministry quoted its minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan as saying.
“One fails to understand why the Bangladeshi government is hell bent upon digging the graves of the past and reopening old wounds. It seems obvious to any independent observer that the recent events in Bangladesh are a manifestation of serious political violations, which are being inflicted on JI Bangladesh for events before the separation of Bangladesh,” the interior minister said, reports Daily Times.

The minister added that he was “deeply saddened to receive this shocking news and believe that the government of Bangladesh has misused the process of law as a political tool against the JI leader”. Interestingly, the statement against the award of death sentence to the JI chief in Bangladesh did not come from Pakistan’s diplomatic authorities and appeared in stark contradiction with the policy adopted by the Foreign Office.
Earlier on Thursday, the FO said it does not comment on the internal matters of other countries. “We are mindful of the developments in Bangladesh. While we do not comment on the internal matters in other countries, we have noted the comments and reports of international community and the human rights organisations about the trial processes,” FO spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told a weekly press briefing.
The interior minister’s statement on the JI chief’s execution comes at a time when Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led federal government vies to win over JI Pakistan’s political support in the wake of its reported differences with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Requesting anonymity, an official at the FO’s South Asia desk said the government was following the policy of ‘blow hot and cold’, over JI Bangladesh chief’s death sentence episode. “The Foreign Office follows a policy line in accordance with its diplomatic obligations. The Home Office has come up with an aggressive stance that reflects public sentiment in Pakistan. The equation has been balanced,” the source commented.