Official figures show about 3 million people were killed and thousands of women were raped during the war, in which some factions, including the Jamaat-e-Islami, opposed the breakaway. Pakistan’s foreign ministry said it was “deeply saddened” by Ali’s execution, describing the proceedings of the war tribunal as “flawed”. Since December 2013 five prominent Jamaat members, including Ali, and a leader of the main opposition party, have been executed for war crimes. International human rights groups say the tribunal’s procedures fall short of international standards but Bangladesh rejects that and the trials are supported by many Bangladeshis. In January, a Bangladeshi diplomat in Pakistan was expelled in what Dhaka officials called “an act of retaliation” after a Pakistani diplomat in Dhaka was expelled for spying.

Source: Indian Express September 04, 2016 16:30 UTC