Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said Bangladesh’s diplomatic relations with Pakistan will continue
alongside quarrel although Pakistan has been making various adverse statements on the ongoing war crimes trial.
“Diplomatic ties with a country normally remain…whatever (adverse thing) they (Pakistan) are saying, we’re protesting that…our diplomatic relations with them will continue alongside quarrel,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said this replying to a query about reconsidering diplomatic relations with Pakistan during her scheduled press conference at her official residence Ganobhaban in the afternoon on her recent fortnight visits to Canada and the USA. The Prime Minister said Pakistan is a defeated force and it was compelled to recognize Bangladesh in 1974.
Hasina said, there might be differences of opinion and the defeated forces could say anything. “It matters little what they say about us, but the main thing is we’re doing our work properly like holding war crimes’ trial.”
She went on saying, “They’ll (defeated forces) feel pain in their hearts as they’re (war criminals) their Piare Bandas (beloved ones). So, they’ll shed tears a bit for them (war criminals).”
Apparently referring to BNP, the Prime Minister also questioned whether those who had made war criminals ministers and stopped the trial of war criminals have any right to do politics in the country.
She said, Ziaur Rahman, grabbing power illegally after 1975, had stopped the trial of war criminals and freed some 11,000 war criminals from jail, while withdrawn some 22,000 cases against the war criminals.
Asked whether Saarc would remain intact the coming days, Hasina said she would not be able to say anything personally as the current chairperson of Saarc is now Nepal and a united decision is needed in this regard.
Since there is no such scope in the Saarc charter to resolve any problem, she said, it is similar to keep the problems beneath the carpet. “So, we must find out a way on how we could work together towards ensuring socioeconomic development of the South Asian countries.”
Asked about the ongoing tensions between the two nuclear rivals Pakistan and India, the Prime Minister said the matter is really worrying. “We don’t want any such tension between these two countries or any apprehension of war.” “We want these two countries to resolve their bilateral problems through talks. There’s no such conflict in this region. We need to keep in mind if such incident happens, then we’ll be affected and our pace of development would be deterred, so we don’t want such thing (conflict and tension),” she said.
When her attention was drawn to the willingness of BNP to reconstitute the Election Commission, Hasina said BNP wants that kind of Election Commission which would make fake voter list as the Election Commission constituted during their tenure had made a voter list comprising over some 1.23 crore fake voters.
“The present Election Commission did not make any such fake voter list and this is not liked by BNP as they want such EC which would make a false voter list,” she added.
During the tenure of BNP, the Prime Minister recalled, a voter-less election was held on February 15, 1996 alongside vote rigging in Magura and Mirpur by elections as well as voter-less by election in Tejgaon. “So, they (BNP) want such election.” “If we accept their suggestion, then we’ll have to constitute such Election Commission which will make fake voter list and its my question to you whether you want this,” Hasina added.
The Prime said she would be happy if the AL men gave her the scope to go retirement after 35 years of relentless works from top post. The AL leaders who were present at the press conference said ‘no’.
Replying to another question on introducing a separate TV channel dedicatedly for sports, the Prime Minister replied in the negative suggesting that games and sports could be broadcast by the existing Sangsad TV channel alongside telecasting various events on government’s development when the Sangsad is not in session.
AL General Secretary and Public Administration Minister Syed Ashraful Islam, LGRD Minister Engineer Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, PM’s Media Adviser Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam were present at the dais. PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim conducted the press conference.
