‘Pakistan remains in denial’: India reiterates support for Bangladesh in seeking justice for 1971 atrocities

NEW DELHI: India on Friday reiterated its support for Bangladesh in seeking justice for atrocities committed by Pakistan during a 1971 military crackdown and said Islamabad continued to deny its crimes.Bangladesh observes March 25 as Genocide Day to commemorate one of the darkest chapters in its history. On that day in 1971, Pakistan launched Operation Searchlight to suppress the Bangladeshi nationalist movement.“We are all aware of the horrific atrocities committed by Pakistan during Operation Searchlight in 1971. This genocide involved the systematic and targeted murder of millions of innocent Bangladeshi people and mass sexual crimes against women,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal told a weekly media briefing.“It also forced millions of people to flee the country and seek asylum in India as refugees. These atrocities have shocked the conscience of the world. However, Pakistan still denies its crimes to this day,” he said.Jaiswal said India supports Bangladesh’s “desire for justice”.New Delhi’s comments came three days after Bangladesh Prime Minister Tariq Rahman described Operation Searchlight as “one of the most heinous genocides in history” against the defenseless people of Bangladesh.Rehman recalled the military crackdown by the Pakistani army in a social media post the day before Genocide Day.“March 25, 1971 remains one of the most shameful and cruel days in the history of freedom-loving Bangladesh. On that dark night, in the name of Operation Searchlight, the Pakistani occupation forces carried out one of the most heinous genocides in history against the defenseless people of Bangladesh. “Rahman called it a planned attack and said the “genocide” on March 25 was a “pre-planned massacre.”India defeated Pakistan in the 1971 war, and more than 90,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendered on December 16, ending the violence and giving birth to Bangladesh as an independent country.