News
Monday, May 14, 2012
Bangladesh political leader indicted over 1971 warDHAKA: A Bangladeshi special court on Sunday indicted a former opposition leader for alleged atrocities, including genocide and murder, during the nation’s 1971 liberation struggle against Pakistan.
Ghulam Azam, 89, the former head of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, is accused of creating and leading pro-Pakistan militias which carried out many killings and rapes during the nine-month war. Wheelchair-bound Azam pleaded not guilty after the charges were read out to him for two hours by Judge Nizamul Huq, who set June 5 as the start of the trial. Azam is the third and most high-profile opposition figure to have been charged.
The Bangladeshi government says up to three million people were killed in the war by the Pakistan Army and local pro-Pakistan militias – a figure disputed by independent historians. afp
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk