‘Pakistan remains in denial’: India reaffirms support for Bangladesh’s justice push over 1971 atrocities | India News
New Delhi: India on Friday reaffirmed its support for Bangladesh’s pursuit of justice over atrocities committed by Pakistan during the 1971 military crackdown, saying Islamabad continues to deny its guilt.The comments came as March 25 was marked as Genocide Day, with Bangladesh remembering one of the darkest chapters in its history. On this day in 1971, Pakistan launched Operation Searchlight to suppress the Bangladeshi nationalist movement.In his weekly media briefing, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We are all aware of the horrific atrocities committed by Pakistan during ‘Operation Searchlight’ in 1971. The genocide involved the planned and targeted killing of millions of innocent Bangladeshis and rampant sexual crimes against women.”“It has forced millions of people to flee the country and seek refuge in India as refugees. These atrocities have shaken the conscience of the world. Pakistan, however, continues to deny its crimes to this day,” he said.Jaiswal said India supports Bangladesh in its “desire for justice”.New Delhi’s comments came three days after Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tariq Rahman described Operation Searchlight against unarmed Bangladeshis as “one of the worst massacres in history”.In a social media post a day before Genocide Day, Rahman recalled the military crackdown by Pakistani forces.“March 25, 1971 is one of the most shameful and brutal days in the history of independence-loving Bangladesh. On that dark night, the Pakistani occupation forces carried out the worst massacre in history against the unarmed people of Bangladesh in the name of ‘Operation Searchlight’.Calling it a planned attack, Rahman said the March 25 ‘massacre’ was a ‘premeditated massacre’.India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war, marked by the surrender of over 90,000 Pakistani soldiers on 16 December, ended the violence and led to the birth of Bangladesh as an independent country.
