Pakistan’s claim on pulling down 1971 genocide exhibition at UN not true: Foreign ministry

A photo exhibition on the 1971 genocide was organised by the Bangladesh Mission at the UN Headquarters in New York on 29 March.

Comments on the exhibition published in Pakistani media have come to the notice of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and it has released a statement.

On the occasion of Genocide Day 2023, the photo exhibition was organised by the Bangladesh Mission with full cooperation from the UN Headquarters and in accordance with all the rules of the organisation, the foreign ministry said.

"Therefore, the claim that the United Nations pulled down the exhibition due to 'distortion of history' and 'breaching regulations' is not true. It is simply a false claim," according to the statement released by the foreign ministry today.

For the first time since Bangladesh became a member state of United Nations in 1974, such an exhibition was organized in honour of the martyrs of the genocide in 1971, it said.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen visited the exhibition with ambassadors, diplomats, expatriate Bangladeshis and freedom fighters from different countries on 29 March. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that the three-day exhibition would contribute to creating awareness among UN member states about the genocide unleashed during the 1971 Liberation War, the statement also said.

The Bangladesh Mission is deeply grateful to the Liberation War Museum in Dhaka and the UN Headquarters in New York for providing support to make this historic event a success. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue its multi-pronged efforts to gain international recognition of the 1971 genocide.