Dhaka:  Former lawmaker of the Netherlands Harry van Bommel has urged Pakistan to formally declare the atrocities the country committed during Bangladesh's Liberation War as genocide.

Harry van Bommel, who is heading a three-member European team to investigate the genocide committed by Pakistan in 1971, also urged Islamabad to clear its position on the issue, reports our Chattogram staff correspondent, reports The Daily Star.

The two other members of the team were also identified as genocide scholar Anthonie Holslag (VU), political analyst Chris Blackburn.

"It should be wise for the Pakistani government to come to terms with reality and … formally declare that there was a genocide in 1971," the former Dutch MP, reminding Pakistan of its obligations as a civilized country, told The Daily Star.

"It is important for Pakistan to take a clear position regarding the 1971 genocide. … It was not a massacre, it was genocide," he said, arguing that internationally renowned institutes have already confirmed it as a genocide using empirical methods based on UN criteria.

He urged the Pakistani government to accept the "scientific conclusion".