TRAP FOR UNWARY
The Prime Minister merely reiterated India’s known position when she said at the Press conference that there could be no Indo-Pakistan dialogue over the Bangladesh issue. This mischievous suggestion is a trap set for India by the wily President of Pakistan. For India to agree to a talk would amount to an admission that the struggle for freedom in Bangladesh was waged at India’s instigation and it could be called off at her behest. The suggestion does not indicate the Pakistan President’s peaceability; it is a continuation, thought not so blatant, of the canard floated by him when the holocaust in Bangladesh began. Not very long ago General Yahya Khan had taken up the plea that Bangladesh was an internal affair of Pakistan to reject out of hand all humanitarian appeals for a halt to his murderous expedition against an unarmed people. A dialogue with India does not square with this attitude. But consistency cannot be a forte of a dictator.
The friends and patrons of the Pakistan President should, however, realize the illogicality of the proposal before they begin to pressurize India into agreeing to a summit. The massing of Pakistani troops on India’s borders is designed to create a war-atmosphere which Pakistan knows will quicken its friends into action. India cannot regard with equanimity such heavy concentration of troops inimical to her; and the defensive measures taken up by her have been seized upon by Pakistan as proof of her aggressive intent. In spite of grave provocations India has kept her cool for more than six months, and there is no reason for her to behave differently when the situation over Bangladesh is fast approaching a denouement. On the other hand, there is every possibility of Pakistan going herself if its aggressive posture does not bring off the desired intervention by friendly countries on its behalf. If brinkmanship does not pay, it may, in sheer desperation, go over the brink.
The countries that are incapable of adopting a neutral stance on Indo-Pakistan matters may be taken in by the Pakistan President’s matters may be taken in by the Pakistan President’s proposal that both sides withdraw their troops to create a demilitarized zone on the borders. This is another crafty piece to insinuate that the Indian troops are also massed on Pakistan’s borders. As this is not the fact, a pullback will place Indian troops deep within the country, while the Pakistani troops will still remain perilously near the Indian borders. The Pakistan President’s sudden access of docility is contrived; his seemingly innocent proposals are a cover for his sinister design to involve Indian in the crisis of his own making that now threatens to overwhelm him. There can be no greater proof of India’s peaceful intentions than the Prime Minister’s forthcoming tour abroad in spite of the grave situation created by Pakistan’s menacing belligerency. A country poised for an aggressive action does not send her Prime Minister abroad in response to long-standing invitations. (Editorial]
Reference: Hindustan Standard 18.10.1971