No ‘Mercy’ In Pakistan Fighting
West Pakistan troops tightened the Army grip on the Eastern province yesterday after a weekend in which many hundreds of civilians were reported to have been killed.
Out staff correspondent in Delhi cabled that East Pakistan was virtually sealed off from the outside world, but the indications were that killing was on a mass scale.
The Dacca curfew was lifted yesterday, but last night more troops were flown to Chittagong to quell disturbances.
Bitter protests that the troops were showing no mercy and trying to terrorise the civilian population into submission came from supporters of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s Awami League.
West Pakistan officials denied the allegations against the Army and said peace had been restored and life was returning to normal. They said wild stories were being picked up from a clandestine radio station operating from a ship moored near Calcutta.
Sheikh Mujib was believed to be under Army arrest last night. A small force of troops surrounded his home in Dacca late on Thursday night.
There were fears that the conflict might spread across the border to West Bengal where sympathy with fellow Bengalis in East Pakistan might be exploited by Indian political agitators. India is not expected to intervene at present.
Contingency plans have been made to airlift to safety 800 Britons still in East Pakistan if the fighting worsens.
Reference: The Daily Telegraph, March 29, 1971.