Bangla leaders believe Bhutto’s promise a ruse
From Our Special Correspondent, DACCA, JAN. 4 – The Bangladesh Government is convinced that Mr. Bhutto’s announcement regarding Sheik Mujibur Rahman is nothing but a part of the Pakistani President’s game of deception.
This conviction of the Bangladesh Government has been confirmed by Mr. Bhutto’s total silence about the Bangabandhu’s release during the 24 hours since his Karachi announcement. The Bangladesh Foreign Minister, Mr. Samad, explained today that if Mr. Bhutto meant business; he would have already released the Sheik. On the contrary, Mr. Bhutto’s statement indicated that he was going to have another round of talks with Mujib by the weekend.
All this fits in well with Mr. Bhutto’s current efforts to create confusion in the international sphere and also to halt the attempts of the Bangladesh Government to secure the release of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Mr. Samad. however, told newsmen that his Government would refuse to take Mr. Bhutto at his word and continued the diplomatic actions taken to pressurize the Pakistani President to release the Head of the State of Bangladesh. The people should not take Mr. Bhutto’s words for granted, he said.
At any rate, Mr. Samad has not postponed his visit to Delhi. He is leaving for the Indian Capital tomorrow to discuss points of mutual interests between the two countries. Trade matters would certainly be discussed as also questions concerning exchange of diplomats.
This will be Mr. Samad’s first visit to New Delhi as Foreign Minister. He is going there on an invitation from the Indian Foreign Minister. Mr. Swaran Singh. He is expected back in Dacca by the weekend.
Our Special Correspondent in New Delhi adds: A spokesman of the External Affairs Ministry said today India had no information about the release of the Sheik. Till now there has been no contact with the Sheik by any representative of the international Red Cross or the United Nations.
At the moment, the Pakistani President is playing his last card and not a trump one. The only idea he has is to persuade the Sheik in his coming talks with him, to agree to stay within the political entity of Pakistan.
Diplomatic circles here believe that the Sheik will never agree to it because he knows very well the circumstances in Bangladesh. He also knows that hundreds and thousands of people were killed by the Pakistani military and that its people are dead set against Pakistan.
Once President Bhutto (or is it Yahya Khan?) had sought to utilize Sheik Mujib as a trump card for bargaining with India. But all this is too late today, after India’s victory in the war.
Diplomatic circles here also point out that Mr. Bhutto’s first task now is to see that he keeps intact what remains of Pakistan today; he is praying to God that he may.
Our Airport Correspondent adds: Mr. H. R. Choudhury, head of the Bangladesh Mission in New Delhi told newsmen at Dum Dum airport today that negotiations with Pakistan for the return of the Sheikh to Bangladesh was being carried on by Mr. Vittorio Winspeare-Guiccardi, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General.
Mr. Choudhury was returning to Delhi from Dacca by a special plane of the Red Cross.
Mr. Roger du Pasquier, representative of the International Red Cross, who arrived from Dacca by a special plane of the Red Cross said, “We are ready to fly to Rawalpindi to bring back the Sheik but we have not yet received any green signal from the Pakistani Government.”
In Dacca the Foreign Minister Mr. Samad said that he had asked the International Red Cross to ascertain the “exact position” from the Pakistani Government about the release of the Sheik, adds PTI.
He said the IRC representative had asked their headquarters in Geneva to ascertain from its counterpart in Islamabad the latest position.
Replying to a question the Red Cross representatives said no Red Cross plane had left Dacca for Pakistan to bring the Bangabandhu as reported by a foreign news agency.
|A Government spokesman in Karachi said today President Bhutto is not likely to act on his promise to release the Sheik unconditionally before the weekend.
Mr. Bhutto was not likely to return to Rawalpindi until Friday for one more round of talks which he said he wanted to hold with Sheik Mujib before releasing him.
Reference: Hindustan Standard, 05.01.1972