Bangladesh has dissented from the statement made by Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar on the unresolved issues of 1971.

Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain said that although he disagreed with the foreign minister’s statement, both countries would continue discussions on these pending matters in the days ahead.

Touhid made the remarks at a press conference at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka on Sunday. The press conference was held following a foreign minister-level meeting between Bangladesh and Pakistan in a city hotel. 

After the bilateral meeting, Ishaq told the media that the unresolved issues, including the genocide during the 1971 Liberation War, between Bangladesh and Pakistan have been resolved twice—once through the 1974 Tripartite Agreement and again in 2002, when Pakistan’s former president Pervez Musharraf expressed regret during his visit to Bangladesh.

At the press conference, when the foreign adviser was asked whether he agreed with the Pakistani minister’s statement or not, he replied, “No, I do not agree. At the meeting, we expressed our thoughts on the unresolved issues. However, both sides agreed to hold further discussion on the matter.”

Touhid said, “The issues that remained unresolved for 54 years cannot be solved in a single day. This was the first meeting in 13 years, and do not expect us to settle everything in just an hour.”

Ishaq arrived in Dhaka on Saturday afternoon for a two-day official visit.