THE NEW HERALD, KATHMANDU, MARCH 30. 1971
Editorial
EAST PAKISTAN
We hope our Pakistani friends will by now have realized the concern being expressed over fighting going on in East Pakistan between Bengalis and West Pakistan. Indeed the concern over military operations launched by the Pakistani army against the followers of the Awami League, which alone represents the people of what they now call ‘Bangladesh’ spring from humanitarian feelings. It must be admitted that the brutal military suppression to which the people of East Pakistan are being subjected by the military machine of West Pakistan has brought forth the sympathy of the eatire world for them. No one in fact, can deny that the people of all countries, be they of the West or East, support the aspirations of the East Bengalis.
The West Pakistanis, by deploring brute force against the helpless Bengalis of East Pakistan, who want nothing but freedom, have killed whatever hope there remain of maintaining a permanent link between the Eastern and Western wings of Pakistan. Bad handling of the constitutional crisis by President Yahya Khan has brought about a disaster of unimaginable magnitude to Pakistan, from which she may never recover. His order in restoring authority in East Pakistan and starting a bloody military repression of freedom-seeking Bengalis, constitutes the gravest of mistakes committed by him so far.
In view of the strict military censorship imposed by the military regime of Pakistan it is difficult to ascertain the facts regarding the present situation in East Pakistan. But one thing is clear. East Pakistanis who are, by and large, unarmed are bravely resisting the harsh military rule imposed on them. It is also clear that they are sacrificing their lives in thousands in the cause of freedom.
The sooner the West Pakistanis realize that unity imposed on the East Pakistanis cannot definitely prove durable, the better for them. They may yet retrieve the situation, by ending all military operations in East Pakistan and formally accepting Mujibur Rahman’s proposals for ending the present crisis, even though it may mean a loose federation between East and West Pakistan.”