THE WASHINGTON POST, OCTOBER 27, 1971
BENGAL BATTLE CLAIMS: NEW THREAT TO PEACE
Conflicting Reports Abound In East Pakistan Warfare
By Lee Lescaze
Washington Past Foreign Services
Chhatak, East Pakistan October 26 -One of the longest and largest recent battles of the war in Pakistan was fought around this small border town two weeks ago.
Like many other events during the Pakistan crisis, the Chhatak battel gave rise to conflicting reports from India and Pakistan which, as much as the actual lighting, keep alive the possibility that one nation will believe itself so wronged it will opt for a full-scale war with its neighbor.
Hostility increased between the two nations after the Pakistani army moved in March to crush an independence movement by Bengal is in East Pakistan. Pakistan’s western wing is dominated by Punjabis while the majority in East Pakistan, separated from the west by 1,000 miles of India, is Bengali, the same as the neighboring area in India.
During the recent fighting around Chhatak, India’s national radio announced that East Bengal guerrillas, called Mukti Bahini, which have received support from India.
A number of Pakistani soldiers listened to the broadcast as they rested in their Chhatak headquarters after the three day battle. One of them, Ltd. Col. Sarfraz Khan Malik, had been killed, the Indian radio said.
The colonel, a blunt man who believes his government is being too lenient with East Pakistan Bengalis was not amused by the Indian broadcast, “Who can believe such liars?” he asked. “It’s damn annoying. I had to telephone my wife in West Pakistan just to say that I’m still alive.”
Although Pakistani troops still hold Chhatak and the five mites of scrub fields between the town and India’s border, the attack does not appear to have been a total failure.
The guerrillas have been concentrating on economic targets throughout East Pakistan. Many rail lines are cut, the army has kept roads open only by rapid It building of blown bridges; power pylons and electric power stations have been sabotaged and fact ones have been burned.
A principal target of the guerrilla attack here was the cement factory-the only one in East Pakistan a region of more than 70 million people. Tile factory is now closed. Roofs of several buildings in the factory grounds have been torn by artillery shells and some of the machinery is damaged. Most important, the factory’s 500 workers fled during the attack and it is not certain how many are willing to return.
A factory official insists that the plant will be in operation again within a week. But much of the office furniture stands piled on railway carriages. The managers, he tells a questioner, have decided to move their office to the district capital of Sylhet about 22 miles away.
The official doubts this move will have any effect on the workers confidence, but an army Major is not pleased. “This is very bad. You must stay here,” the Major says. There is an uneasy silence and the conversation returns to details of the battle.
Red Tape Expected
The factory is a government industry, another observer points out. There will be reports of the damage and then there will be surveys and then revisions of the reports and requests for spare parts and finally someone will send for a Canadian or a Japanese expert, he predicts, “It will take at least six months”.
About 1000 Mukti Bahini took part in the attack on Chhetak. Pakistani officials say. The guerrillas moved across the border at night and took up positions 011 both sides of the Surma River which divides the town from the factory.
At about eight a.m. 011 October 13 Indian artillery opened up and the guerrillas began to move against the small Pakistani garrison. The battle lasted two full days and into the morning of the third with Pakistani reinforcements arriving from the district capital and artillery being rushed up from rear positions until a force of less than 300 men was able to cross the river under fire and push the guerrillas back into India.
Body counts are no more exact here than elsewhere. Col Sarfraz says more than 250 guerillas were killed. A high-ranking officer puts the figure at more than 150 while a third military source reports that about 100 attackers died. An agree that fewer than 10 Pakistani soldiers were killed.
Pakistani Charges
Calculations from the known range of India’s British-made field guns, the Pakistani command is convinced that Indian artillery moved about 1,000 yards into Pakistani territory during the Chhatak battle. They also charge that Indian soldiers moved 5,000 years across the border to direct guerillas movements and provide mortar fire for the attackers.
Local villagers saw the Indians well within Pakistan’s territory, the officers say. They believe that India’s strategy is to use guerrillas at the frontline of assault in attempt to seize and held pockets of Pakistan, if any such attack is successful, the commanders explain. Indian army units will move into tile pocket and once again provide close support for a second guerrilla push deeper into Pakistan.
By staying in the rear and only providing covering fire and logistical help, the Indians avoid being captured or killed and, thus Pakistan cannot exhibit proof of intrusions, tile officers say.
Whether the officers’ accusations are true or not, they are a small part of the war on nerves India and Pakistan are conducting along their borders and in their capitals.