Pakistan High Commissioner in Dhaka Ashraf Qureshi yesterday said Pakistan will not interfere in Bangladesh government's move to hold trial of its alleged war criminals since it is an internal affair of this country.
That Pakistan is opposing the trial is a "guesswork of the media", he said.
"Pakistan believes in sovereignty of Bangladesh and there is no question to interfere by Pakistan in the internal affair of this country," Qureshi told reporters after meeting with Law Minister Shafique Ahmed at his secretariat office yesterday afternoon.
The Pakistan envoy, however, said his county has not yet made any formal statement about trial of war criminals in Bangladesh.
Replying to a question, he said the issue of trial of alleged Pakistani war criminals was settled through the Simla Agreement in 1972.
Law Minister Shafique Ahmed said the Pakistan high commissioner made it clear that Islamabad will not launch any campaign against Bangladesh government's initiative to hold trial of those who committed crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.
"Pakistan has changed its position about holding trial of war criminals in Bangladesh," he said, adding that only the war criminals in Bangladesh will be tried.
On March 20, the law minister told reporters at a function that Pakistan had been campaigning against the government's initiative to try war criminals.
But he said yesterday there is no confusion over holding the trial of the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War.
The trial will be held under the International Crimes (Tribunal) Act 1973, which covers trial of offences including crimes against humanity and peace, genocide, looting and arson, Shafique said.
Earlier in the day, the law minister told a delegation of the International Federation for Human Rights that the provision of death penalty should be in the laws of Bangladesh to punish perpetrators of heinous crimes.
The delegation led by Laurie Berg, Australian representative of the human rights body, met with the law minister at his office to learn about the human rights situation in Bangladesh and discuss if it is necessary to keep the provision of death penalty.