According to the clip, it was Major Ziaur Rehman, former President of Bangladesh and husband of BNP leader Khaleda Zia, who declared Bangladesh’s independence and not Rehman, as he did not want war with Pakistan.

The incident was highly criticised by the incumbent Awami League government, and though the video was taken off the Facebook page of the High Commission after Bangladesh’s objection, the Pakistan Foreign Office has refused to apologise for the incident.

Later, in a tit-for-tat reaction, the Foreign Office in Islamabad summoned the Bangladeshi Ambassador Tarik Ahsan and charged Bangladesh of using undiplomatic language in the Note Verbale issued to lodge the protest against the Facebook post.

Islamabad has denied accusations of genocide by its Army against Bangladeshis during the Liberation War in 1971.

According to experts, for decades, it tried to build a counter-narrative where it has held India responsible for the division of Pakistan. 

As a part of this endeavour, it has often resorted to fabricating the progression of events prior to and during the Liberation war.

For instance, in 2015 it facilitated Junaid Ahmed to publish a book titled ‘Creation of Bangladesh: Myths Exploded’ which negated genocide by the Pakistani forces and even challenged the number of Bangladeshis who died during the war.

In 2009, the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government established the 1971 War Crimes Tribunal to try those who were accused of carrying out atrocities during the Liberation War in conjunction with the Pakistani troops.

This move, followed by the execution of those found guilty of war crimes by the Tribunal, including senior Jamaat –e-Islami (JeI) leader Motiur Rahman Nizami and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) MP Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, has further deepened the rift between Bangladesh and Pakistan, according to experts.

The leaders, who have been executed following judgement by the War Crimes Tribunal, were known to have opposed the formation of Bangladesh and assisted Pakistani forces to identify and eliminate pro-liberation supporters in what was then East Pakistan.

The recent diplomatic row is a fall out of the continued effort by Pakistan to alter the narrative on the liberation of Bangladesh, and at the same time shore up the image of the pro-Pakistan BNP ahead of the general elections in Bangladesh in 2018.

According to Bangladeshi nationalists, Pakistan's use of the Liberation War as a propaganda tool is viewed as an insult to the memories of the martyrs of Liberation.