Pak violated 1974 tripartite accord, says Bangladesh law minister

Dhaka : Bangladeshi Law Minister Anisul Huq on Saturday said the 1974 tripartite agreement is no longer valid, as Pakistan violated the accord by not taking their stranded citizens back from the country.

“According to a law, if any party of an agreement does not fulfil the condition, the deal becomes invalid,” the Daily Star quoted Huq, as saying after addressing a programme at Dhanmondi’s Bilia Auditorium in Dhaka.

The law minister stressed that Pakistan refused to take its stranded citizens back, henceforth breaching the agreement.

Islamabad had issued a press statement on the 1974 Tripartite Agreement following the execution of top war criminal Motiur Rahman Nizami on May 11.

“The 1974 Tripartite Agreement is the cornerstone of relations between the two countries. It needs to be emphasised that, as part of the agreement, the Government of Bangladesh decided not to proceed with the trials as an act of clemency,” the statement said.

Dhaka in reply said that Nizami was executed after the completion of all legal process and the country’s highest court had pronounced the verdict.

Diplomatic tensions between both nations seemed shaky with each government summoning the other’s envoy to lodge strong protests over the execution of Jamaat chief Nizami. Bangladesh on May 12 summoned the Pakistan High Commissioner here for the second time in three days. About five hours after Islamabad summoned the Bangladesh envoy there.

Pakistan has strongly condemned the hanging of Nizami by the Bangladesh government. (ANI)