News Desk
Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday summoned Bangladeshi envoy in Islamabad and lodged a strong protest over execution of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Motiur Rahman Nizami over alleged war crimes.
Nizami, the leader of Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh, was hanged on Tuesday night for his alleged role in the events of 1971 war.
Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International (AI) and other rights groups condemned the execution of Nizami and termed his trial as flawed.
“The Acting High Commissioner of Bangladesh was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thursday by the Director General (South Asia & SAARC) and a strong protest was lodged at the unfortunate hanging of Motiur Rahman Nizami on the alleged crimes committed before December 1971through a flawed judicial process,” a statement issued by 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,” it said.
The foreign office said that the 1974 Tripartite Agreement is 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, it added.