BanglaDesh defection
By Patrick Keatley, diplomatic correspondent
The political counselor at the Pakistan High Commission in London, Mr Rhezaul Karim has resigned to join the BanglaDesh movement in London. He is the most senior member of the Pakistan Foreign Service in Britain to defect and held the most sensitive post in the mission next to that of the High Commissioner and his deputy.
As political counselor, he would be expected to defend the policies of the Yahya Khan administration. He would also see all the confidential papers and telegrams relating to the political crisis which has beset Pakistan since the start of army operations in East Bengal in March.
He told me last night that his defection was “an act of conscience, a very painful decision for me, but the only course open to someone who has seen his Government commit terrible folly, and then refuse to realize it has committed this folly despite the mounting evidence of the weeks and months that have passed.”
Mr Karim said his decision, added to those of others in the Pakistan foreign service, was an attempt to warn the military rulers in West Pakistan that if they did not change course, “an even greater disaster lies ahead.” This could involve not only Bengal but the apparently impregnable fortress of West Pakistan itself.
In personal terms, the decision by Mr Karim represents a heavy financial setback. At 38, recently promoted to the rank of counselor, which means his next post would be full ambasador, he is regarded as one of the ‘High flyers” of the Pakistani diplomatic service. He was receiving a salary of $3,600 in his London post, free of tax, with additional benefits including accommodation.
He has no idea at this stage how he will manage financially but his wife supports his decision and is confident that they and their two children will be alright. From today Mr Karim will be reporting to the BanglaDesh mission in London, headed by Mr Justice Chowdhuri.
As to this sudden drop in income, Mr Karim told me, “It is not something that I regret, nor was it a dilemma. It was simply the case that I could no longer, with a clear conscience, live the life of a normal diplomat, knowing that terribly wrong things are being done in my country.”
Three other members of the Pakistani mission in Britain have already defected to BanglaDesh. They are the second secretary, the assistant labor attache, and the director of audit and accounts. These were accredited members of staff, but there have been defections by non-diplomats as well.
Mr Karim has been assigned to a number of special missions abroad. The most recent was his assignment to Bulgaria in May when he was asked to set up a new mission in Sofia. In January he was selected to fly to Singapore for the Commonwealth conference. His postings have included New York and Baghdad.
In the letter of resignation which he sent to the Pakistani High Commissioner here yesterday, Mr Karim said he shared with his fellow Bengalis serving abroad the “terrible mental anguish” they had all felt since “the atrocious fully committed on March25”. He said this had resulted. in “the greatest human tragedy of the century in East Bengal.”
Reference: The Guardian : 8 October 1971