A group of Pakistani people filed statements on oath before a Bangladeshi war crime tribunal to save the life of a former member of Bangladeshi parliament.
Salahuddin Chaudhry is facing trial in the tribunal formed by the Awami League-led government to punish those who supported Pakistani government during the Fall of Dhaka.
According to a report, the people who submitted their statements are former caretaker PM Muhammad Mian Soomro, former federal minister Ishaq Khan Khaqani, an owner of an English newspaper and three others.
In their testimony, they said that during the 1971 civil war Chaudhry was studying at Punjab University Lahore and had no connection with war crimes whatsoever.
Political and diplomatic observers say that this was a major initiative by some Pakistani nationals to save the life of their friend as the government of Pakistan was totally silent on the sentences announced by the so-called tribunals.
Chaudhry is son of former united National Assembly speaker Fazlur Qadir Chaudhry and Bangladeshi opposition leader Khalida Zia. He is in prison for the last two years on charges of war crimes. It is feared that he would be awarded death sentence by the tribunal as had been done in the case of some Jamaat-e-Islami leaders.
Statements filed before Bangladesh war crime tribunal
