YAHYA POSTPONES SESSION OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
The Pakistn President, General Yahya Khan, has decided to postpone summoning of the national assembly to a later date, according to Pakistani Embassy here.
In a statement on March I, he said he had decided to postpone the assembly session with a heavy heart. He recalled that he had repeatedly stated that the consititution was not an ordinary piece of legislation but a way to live together.
For a healthy and viable constitution, therefore, it was necessary that both East and West Pakistan should have adequate sense of participation in the processing of constitution making, he said.
The President recounted steps taken by his administration right from the outset to transfer power to the elected representatives of the people. He recalled his address to the nation just prior to the elections in which he had suggested to the leaders of the political parties that it would be useful for them to employ the period between elections and commencement of the national assembly to meet each other and arrive at a consensus of the main provisions of the country’s future constitution. He had fixed national assembly session for today so as to give enough time to do so.
The Pakistan President said although some meetings took place between political leaders in the past few weeks it was regretable that instead of arriving at a consensus some of the leaders had taken hard attitude.
It was therefore imperative, the President said, to give political leaders more time to arrive at a resonable understanding on constitution making.
The President saids “I wish to make a soleman promise to the people of Pakistan that as soon as the environment become conductive to consititution making I will have no hesitation in calling session of the Assembly immediately.”
Sheikh Mujibur Calls for Total General Strike
To Proclaim UDI?
… after postponement of the convening of Pakistan’s Constituent Assembly, when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Awami League leader, called for a total general strike, said a report form Dacca, East Pakistan.
President Yahya Khan’s broadcast announcing the postponement brought ugly tension to this East Pakistan capital, which is looking to the Assembly to draft a constitution favouring East Pakistan’s demand for almost complete autonomy.
Shops closed, cars vanishad from the streets and work in offices and factories stopped and people marched through the streets in spontanous reactions, chanting “Victory for Bengal” and often calling for an independent Bengal nation.
Cricket Pitch Invaded
Spectators Invaded- the cricket pitch where the Commonwealth touring team was playing a Pakistan Board of Cricket Control side,
“Hartal” called by Sheikh Mujibur, whose Awami League would have had an absolute majority in the New Assembly, made his call for a general strike at a press conference, at which his voice was often drowned in shouting of young militant supporters trying to force their way in.
He called for “hartal”- a total closedown-in Dacca Tuesday, widening to embrace the whole of East Pakistan today.
He would announce a further programme on March 7 after conferring with East Pakistan leaders.
Pres. Yahya’s dilemma
President Yahya Khan’s decision Monday to put off the Assembly meeting follows a period of political brinkmanship between Sheikh Mujibur and Bhutto, whose party strength is concentrated in the two widely divided parts of Pakistan.
If he had not deferred the Assembly, the President would have faced a mass protest movement in the prosperous West Pakistan provinces of Punjab and Sind, which Bhutto’s leftist People’s Party won in the December elections.
Efforts to reconcile Sheikh Mujibur’s insistence on near Independence for East Pakistan with Bhuttos’ anxiety to preserve a viable national entity have so far failed, despite a series of meetings between the leaders in the past two months.
The Sheikh, who cammands 167 of the 313 Assembly seats including seven reserved for East Pakistan women whose candidates were returned unopposed Monday-told his press conference that the administration had violated the principles of democracy which requires that majority will should prevail.
Sheikh Mujibur said a mass protest rally will be held on Sunday on the racecourse in Dacca.
To proclaim U.D.I.
Asked if he would use the rally to proclaim U.D.I. (Unilateral Declaration of Independence, he replied : “You wait”.
He declined to give any hint of his future actions, but said: “If they push us further, the people of Bengal will decide.”
“At the appropitate time I will, Insha Allah (God willing) take the decision”. Reuter.
Reference : The Djakarta Times, 03.03.1971