Pakistan and Bangladesh have summoned each others’ diplomats as tensions between them rose following Wednesday's execution of a Bangladeshi Islamic political party leader, accused of committing crimes during the country’s 1971 war of independence against Pakistan.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry called in the top Bangladeshi diplomat in Islamabad to give him a unanimously passed parliament resolution condemning the execution of Motiur Rahman Nizami.
Shortly after, Bangladesh summoned the Pakistani envoy in Dhaka to express its strong protest over Pakistani statements.
Nizami, who led the country’s largest Islamic party of Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), was hanged during the early hours Wednesday after the country’s Supreme Court rejected his plea against the death sentence and he refused to seek mercy from the president of Bangladesh.
The 73-year-old leader was sentenced to death in 2014 for his role in mass killings, rape and organizing the massacre of some intellectuals during the war.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday that it was "deeply saddened" by the killing, adding "his only sin was upholding the constitution and laws of Pakistan."
Jamaat-e-Islami called for a nationwide strike in Bangladesh to protest the execution.
