Mao assures Yahya
New Delhi, April 18. Chairman Mao tse-Tung has sent a personal assurance of support to President Yahya Khan in the present crisis in Pakistan, according to well-informaed sources here, says PTI.
These sources said that Mao assured all assistance to expand the Pakistan army and replenish it with uptodate weapons. It is known here that the Pakistan army is hard pressed by the gathering momentum of the freedom movement led by Sheikh Mujibur Rehman and that it has used up so much of ammunition in suppressing the movement that it is running out of ammunition.
Mao’s assurance follows an earlier expression of support to President Yahya’s policies in East Bengal by Chinese Premier Chou En-lai.
Anti-Russia Step
Observers here thought that Mao’s personal assurance was designed as a diplomatic upmanship against Soviet Union. A recent message by the Soviet President Nikolai Podgorny warned Pakistan against military measures in East Bengal and suggested to President Yahya Khan to end the bloodshed in the eastern wing.
Reference: Hindustan Standard 19.4.71