Yahya Tries To Stop Split
S. R. Ghauri
Karachi, March 11, Fast President Yahya Khan has made yet another effort to prevent a violent split between the two wings of Pakistan by proposing urgent discussions between himself and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the leader of the Awami League. The former Defence Secretary, Mr. Khurshid, now president of the Punjab branch of the Awami League, today flew to Dacca with a message from Yahya. Mr. Khurshid is a Punjabi and he might be able to remove some of the misunderstanding between Punjab and Bengal. Many observers see the confrontation between East and West Pakistan as simply a confrontation between Punjab and Bengal.
President Yahya is flying into Karachi tomorrow and if Mujib shows a readiness to meet him in Dacca he will go to East Pakistan on March 14. Much will, however, depend on success of Mr. Khurshid’s mission for unless Mujib shows signs of coming to terms with the armed forces represented by the President, who is also supreme commander and chief martial law administrator. the President might not undertake a fruitless journey to Dacca.
Mr. Bhutto whose initial decision to boycott the inaugural meeting of the National Assembly on March 3, was largely responsible for precipitating the crisis yesterday. requested an immediate meeting with Mujib. In a message to Mujib, Mr. Bhutto said: “The unfortunate crisis that has since developed leads me to believe that we have come to a stage when the two wings of Pakistan must immediately reach a common understanding if the country is to be saved. And the country must be saved whatever the cost.” While Mr. Bhutto’s gesture is noble, under the present political circumstances it is quite futile. Mr. Bhutto had decided to boycott the National Assembly because Mujib had declined to discuss his six-point scheme outside the assembly. Mr. Bhutto insisted that a dialogue to break the constitutional impasse must precede a session of the Assembly and that he would not go to an Assembly that was already deadlocked where he might be forced to witness the passage of a constitution based on the six-point formula.
But the situation today is that Mujib is at present not interested in engaging himself in debate with Mr. Bhutto or anyone else on the six-point scheme, His four conditions which he wants to be fulfilled before attending a session of the National Assembly can be discussed only with President Yahya. Mr. Bhutto cannot lift martial law or sent troops back to barracks, or transfer power to representatives of the people before a meeting of the Assembly. He cannot even order a judicial inquiry into what Mujib describes as mass killings in East Pakistan. Today smaller parties and even those leaders who lost their representative character in the general elections in West Pakistan in December are in a better position than Mr. Bhutto to Influence the thinking of the Awami League.
Bengalis thronged Karachi Airport today in a frantic effort to return to East Pakistan. The airport was like a refugee camp.
Reference: The Guardian, 12 March, 1971