United Nations : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has hit out at Pakistan, saying its Army launched a "heinous" military operation in 1971 which triggered a "genocide" during the liberation war, killing 3 million innocent people. In her address to the UN General Assembly yesterday, Hasina said her countrys parliament had recently declared 25th March as Genocide Day to pay homage to the victims.
The war in 1971 broke after a sudden crackdown at midnight on March 25, 1971 in the erstwhile East Pakistan by the Pakistani troops and ended on December 16. The same year Pakistan conceded defeat and unconditionally surrendered in Dhaka to the allied forces comprising the freedom fighters and the Indian soldiers. Officially three million people were killed during the nine-month long war.
"In the 1971 war of liberation, we endured an extreme form of genocide. In the 9-month-long war of liberation against Pakistan 3 million innocent people were killed and more than 200,000 women were violated," Hasina said. "The Pakistan military launched the heinous operation searchlight on 25th March which was the beginning of the 1971 genocide. The 1971 genocide included targeted elimination of individuals on the ground of religion, race and political belief. The intellectuals were killed brutally," Hasina said. PTI
