B'desh urges Pakistan to apologise for 1971 'crimes'

DHAKA (AFP) - Bangladesh on Wednesday urged Pakistan to apologise formally for alleged atrocities committed by its army during Bangladeshs bloody liberation struggle in 1971.
Bangladeshi officials have said 3m people were killed during the fight for independence for what was then East Pakistan, and the new govt in Dhaka has vowed to try suspected war criminals.
In a meeting with Pakistans HC on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni raised the issue of seeking formal apologies by Pakistan for the genocide in 1971, a written statement said. A Pakistani envoy told Bangladesh in February to let bygones be bygones and rejected plans to try those accused of murder, rape and arson. A private Dhaka-based group that has investigated the conflict has named 1,775 people, including Pakistani generals and local Islamists allied with Pakistan, as war crime suspects.