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“We must conduct the trial as the people have given us mandate for that,” Dipu Moni said.

She said there might be campaigns against the trial but those must be fought by creating public opinion at home and abroad.

AK Khandker said the government is going ahead with the issue very carefully, which might appear to be slow.

"The campaign to build public opinion in favour of trying war criminals must continue." said AK Khandker, also the SCF chairman.

SCF Vice Chairman Maj Gen (retd) KM Shafiullah alleged that the government did not take actions against those who spoke against the country's constitution and threatened the victims of war crimes who spoke to the media recently.

"It appears that we are not mentally prepared to try the war criminals," he said.

Shafiullah said although Pakistan is campaigning against the trial, the Bangladesh government has not yet taken necessary steps to create public opinion abroad in favour of the trial.

Eminent jurist barrister Amir-Ul Islam said various organisations working on the issue must unite in mobilising people and collecting evidence of war crimes.

"A high priority of the government now should be to identify all 1971 mass graves,” he said.

The SCF Secretary General Lt Gen (retd) Harun Or Rashid in his keynote paper said the 1971 war criminals who already got established in business and politics are trying to mount pressure on the government both nationally and internationally to bar it from holding the trial.

Workers' Party President Rashed Khan Menon, SCF Publicity Secretary Harun Habib, Maj Gen (retd) Amin Ahmed Chowdhury, Bangladesh Mohila Parishad President Ayesha Khanam, Maj Gen (retd) Helal Morshed Khan. Prof Mamtajuddin Patwari and researcher AHM Shamsul Arefin also spoke.