1971.08.05 | Bangladesh Newsletter - সংগ্রামের নোটবুক

Bangladesh Newsletter

No. 6

August 5, 1971

EDITOR’S NOTE

We are sorry for the slight delay in the publication of this issue of our Newsletter. Both of our editors were out of town and our chief editor is still in Washington, D.C. helping lobbying efforts at the Capitol Hill. We hope our readers will appreciate ouf difficulities.

There is a good chance that by the time this newsletter reaches you, the house of Representatives of the United States Congress will be considering the Gallagher Amendment and acting upon it. At least it is on the agenda for floor action on Tuesday August 3, 1971. Our Washington lobbyists feel encouraged by the responses from the majority of Congressmen and their aides they have contacted. We are very much hopeful that the amendment will pass the House.

The similar Saxbe-Church Amendment in the Senate will come up for floor action some time in September when the Senate reassembles after summer recess. There is a stronger bipartisan feeling in the Senate in favor of the Amendment. (Both the Gallagher Amendment and the Saxbe-Church Amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 will stop economic and military assistance to the Pakistan military regime till a political solution is found in East Bengal.) Already 32 Senatoirs have co-sponsored the amendment. But it is important that we get more support. So please keep up the drive to have more letters sent to all the Senators during the month of August. Make your American friends write to their own Senators. And if for some reason the House fails to act on the Gallagher Amendment before the summer recess, letters and cables to all the Congressmen should also continue to flow in.

We are fighting for a just cause. Never has a people been so wronged as we have been at the hands of Pakistan. It is, therefore, comparatively easy for us to win support to our cause. Just let more and more people know about the facts and they will support us. Let us work a bit harder in August. If we can stop the U.S. government from aiding the tottering government of Pakistan, the battle in Bangladesh will be half won. The Mukti-Bahini (Liberation Army) will do the rest for us. Joy Bangla!

HOW THE PAKISTAN QUESTION STANDS IN CONGRESS

On July 15, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted 17 to 6 in favor of the Gallagher Amendment (HR # 9160) to withhold military and economic assistance from Pakistan until East Pakistani refugees have been returned to their homes and “reasonable stability” has been achieved in the country. We are hopeful that the entire House will follow the Committee’s recommendations. For Congress to authorize the Administration’s request of $131.8 million in economic and military aid for the fiscal year 1972 is to strengthen the control of the military regime and to deny help to the Bengalis who are being in the Senate, the feeling against American economic and military assistance to the Pakistan Army is stronger than in the House. There are at present 32 co-sponsors to the Saxbe-Church Amendment (S #1657) to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. They are as follows :

Allott, Colorado; Beall, Maryland; Bayh, Indiana; Bellmon, Oklahoma; Bennett, Utah; Beggs, Delware; Brooke, Masschusetts; Case, New Jersey; Church, Ioaho; Cranston, California; Eagleton, Maine; Gurney, Florida; Hart, Michigan; Hartke, Inidiana; Hatfield, Oregon; Hughes, lowa; Humphrey, Minnesota; Moss, Utah; Muskie, Maine; Pastore, Rhode Island; Pell, Rhode Island; Proxmire, Wisconsin; Randolph, West Virginia; Ribiooff, Connecticut; Roth, Delaware; Saxbe, Ohio; Scott, Pennsylvania; Stevens, Alaska; Stevenson, Illinois; Tunney, California.

PLEASE ACT IMMEDIATELY. THESE MEASURES ARE PRESENTLY BEING CONSIDERED IN CONGRESS.

How you can help :

IN THE HOUSE (in case the House fails to take action this week)

Your letter or postcard asking for your Representative’s support for the Gallagher Amendment (HR # 9160) to the Foreign Assistance Act is crucial in order to assure its passage when it reaches the House floor. Each mailing is recorded on a tally which circulates weekly to every Congressmen. In addition a thoughtful answer, so we are enclosing a sample format letter which you may wish to send.

Suggested postcard format :

SUPPORT THE SAXBE-CHURCH AMENDMENT (S # 1657) TO THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961. STOP ECONOMIC AND MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO THE PAKISTAN MILITARY REGIME. SUPPORT RELIEF EFFORTS IN EAST PAKISTAN.

ECONOMIC COUNSELLOR AT THE PAKISTAN EMBASSY RESIGNS :

Mr. A.M.A. Muhit a senior officer of the Civil Service of Pakistan and the Economic Counsellor at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington has formally resigned his post and severed all connections with the Government of Pakistan. In a letter to the President of Pakistan dated July 21, Mr. Muhit gave reasons for his resignation together with a total indictment of the Yahya regime. In his letter, Mr. Muhit questioned the legitimacy of the Yahya government, assailed it for its colonial ambition, savagery, and utter lack of humanitarian concern.

It may be recalled that Mr. Muhit was awarded a Tamgha (title) for his meritous services to the Government of Pakistan. His last home post was Joint Secretary, Natural Resources Division, Government of Pakistan.

We congratulate Mr. Muhit for his bold decision.

BANGLADESH MISSION STAFF IN CALCUTTA REFUSE TO RETURN :

The officers and the employees of the now defunct Deputy High Commission in Calcutta who had defected to the Bangladesh Government and now work for the Bangladesh Mission in India situated in Calcutta, refused to be repatriated to Pakistan.

The refusal to be repatriated was conveyed to the Swiss representative Dr. Bonard when he interviewed them separately in Calcutta on July 18. Dr. Bonard was acting as an intermediary between the Governments of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

After the interview with Dr. Bonard, an employee who refused to be repatriated observed : “This gives lie to the Pakistani propaganda that we aer being forcibly held at the Mission in Calcutta since April 18 last when the former Deputy High Commissioner Mr. Hossain Ali proclaimed his allegiance to the Bangladesh government”.

DECISION HAILED :
Mujibnagar, July 18 :
Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khandaker Mushtaque Ahmed tonight extended his “warmest congratulation” to Bangladesh Mission Chief in Calcutta, Mr. Hossain Ali, his officers and members of staff on the “patriotism, dedication and steadfast determination” which they had demonstrated in the service of Bangladesh.

In a letter to Mr. Hossain Ali, Mr. Ahmed recalled “with admiration that as early as April 18 you declared your allegiance to the government of Bangladesh, and raised the green, gold and crimson flag on the Mission premises. You thus joined your 75 million compatriots in the struggle against Pakistani aggressore and began functioning as our diplomatic envoy in India.

“The Cabinet wishes to put on record our appreciation of the selfless loyalty with which you and your colleagues are serving the motherland”.

THE POLITICAL SCENE IN PAKISTAN : a) YAHYA HUNTS FOR PRIME MINISTER :

After three attempts, President Yahya Khan of Pakistan is still unable to find politicians to whom he can “transfer power”. Since the brutal suppression of the Awami League which won a clear majority in the last national elections in Pakistan, Yahya has been trying hard to form a Vichy government preferably with a Bengali at the head in order to placate world public opinion which has been outraged by his war of genocide against the Bengalis. First he turned to Mr. Nurul Amin, the former chief minister of East Bengal. But Mr. Amin refused.

Next Yahya turned to Begum Akhtar Suleiman, daughter of former prime minister of Pakistan, the late H.S. Suhrawardy. Begum Akhtar had earlier claimed to have the support of 110 MNAs from the Awami League but only five attended the meeting she had summoned to consolidate her “leadership”. So that failed too.

Yahya’s latest move to encourage the three Muslim League parties to merge has started a squabble for leadership. While the Convention Muslim League of former President Ayub Khan and the Council Muslim League of Punjabi landlord Mian Mumtaz Daulatana have merged, Quaiyum Muslim League is still jockeying for position in the power arrangement. Quaiyum’s reaction to the merger of the other two Muslim Leagues was a more sarcastic wish for a “long union and fortility”.

b) WHITER BHUTTO?

The main victim in West Pakistan of the Pakistan Army’s genocidal war in Bangladesh seems to be the chairman of the People’s Party of Pakistan, Mr. Bhutto, the man whose refusal to accept the majority of the Awami League is largely responsible for the turn of events since the beginning of March. With the Awami League declared illegal, the People’s Party (with only 88 seats and, according to his logic, should, therefore, be allowed to form a civilian government. But the military rulers of Pakistan see it otherwise. In order to whittle away Bhutto’s “majority” they are trying to form a pro-military coalition of minor parties (as reported above) whose candidates will then be thrown into the “East Pakistan” bye-elections caused by the ban on Awami Leauge. After all Bhutto’s party is only a regional party and the President has said that one condition in the new Constitution he is framing will be that regional parties operating in only one wing will not be allowed.

Thus Bhutto is now a victim of his own sophistry. He did not want to accept a constitution framed by the majority Awami League on the grounds that the Awami League was based only in the east wing. This same argument is now being used against him by the military as his party’s strength is limited only in the west.
In view of all this, Bhutto’s recent slogan “Power or Prison by November” is of immense significance. On the face of it, he is so hopelessly outgunned that the second part of his slogan seems more likely to come true. But he is not likely to give up without a fight. The armour he may use against the military is already being forged. There are indications that the fast-determianting economic situation caused by the loss of the captive market of Bangladesh will cause many more industrial labourers to be laid off in West Pakistan. An industrial unrest bound to flare up in the fall can be of tremendous advantage to Bhutto. How the military will react then is not difficult to imagine. Maybe it is now the turn of the West Pakistan masses to repay in kind for the crimes against humanity perpetrated by their army on the unarmed innocent masses of Bangladesh.

NEWSBITS :

1) Commonwealth moves to get India and Pakistan to accept Arnold Smith, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, as a mediator on problems now bedeviling their relationship have failed. Pakistan turned against the mediation offer, first, because the Commonwealth Secretariat in London is associated in Pakistan official thinking as being British and secondly, because Mr. Arnold Smith is a Canadian. Canada is in bad odor in Pakistan because of a critical remark made by its Foreign Minister, Mr. Mitchell Sharp.

2) A Tass report states that the Soviet Government newspaper “Izvestia” recently included a condolence message from the Acting President of Bangladesh on the sad death of three cosmonauts in the Soviet Union in its list of messages received from Heads of States of different countries of the world. Diplomatice sources interpret this as a tacit recognition of the Bangladesh government.

3) The Bengali guerrillas have kept up the pressure against Pakistan army in Bangladesh. They have won important victories in the Rangpur, Mymensingh, Sylhet and Comilla sectors in the recent days. Pressure has been kept up in the Jessore, Kushtia sector as well. Many Pakistan soldiers have been killed in surprise actions. A number of important bridges have been blown up.

The Bengali guerrillas have also made their presence felt in the capital city of Dacca. In simultaneous attacks they have knocked out three most important power stations of Dacca which kept the city out of electricity for about 36 hours. Recently they have been distributing leaflets and putting up signs warning civilians to leave Dacca (and other towns) before the Mukti-Bahini opens a bloody new offensive soon.

NEWS FROM VARIOUS BANGLADESH GROUPS :

Bangladesh Association of the Mid-West

In about a week’s time the Bangladesh Association of Midwest will launch a massive fund drive for relief of the victims of Pakistan Army brutalities in Bangladesh. Our Bloomington (Indiana) group informs us that the drive is aimed at the University community in particular. Already the Chancellor of the University of Indiana at Bloomington, several deans and about five chairman of different departments of the University have issued appeals for the fund drive. Several State Senators have also supported the drive.

Bangladesh Association of Canada :

The President of the BAC (Toronto) has sent un the following information :
The so-called “Pakistan Solidarity Committee” in Toronto organised a meeting to be addressed by traitor Mahmud Ali of PDP in the Ontario College of Education auditorium on July 18, 1971.

To protest this propaganda tactics of Yahya Khan, the Bangladesh Association of Canada (Toronto) arranged a peaceful demonstration in front of the auditorium. As only “Pakistanis” were invited, we decided to boycott the meeting totally.

The unruly West Pakistanis jumped on the lawful demonstration and attacked us with physical violence without any provocation from our side. When imposed upon us we had to retaliate, and they were forced to retreat. However, at this point the Police arrived and pushed them inside the auditorium.

We wanted to have a peaceful demonstration, and as such we informed the Police about the demonstration beforehand. Whereas the “Solidarity Committee” with its gangaster policy wanted to put us down with violence. Their attempt did not succced, and the demonstration continued as scheduled.

The meeting was a complete failure, it proved to be nothing but a farce to the audience.

Bangladesh Association of Saskatchewan :

The President of the Saskatoon Branch of Bangladesh Association of Saskatchewan, Canada, writes inter alia :

“Here in Saskatoon we have been doing whatever we can. Mostly it has been sending cables, letters etc. to the Canadian Governmental leaders. As you are aware, these have produced results as far as Canada’s reaction to the Bangladesh situation. The most recent one was that of cancellation of all export permits for arms, scheduled for PADMA”.

San Francisco :

The San Francisco group in collaboration with the Stanford India Association organized a program of songs by Joan Baez at the Stanford Frost Amphitheatre on July 24. The program was a great success. More than 12,000 attended the concert with many more waiting outside. In the middle of the program Miss Baez made an announcement that a major portion of the proceeds from the concert will go to aid the refugees from East Bengal. At the concert the Bangladesh group collected about 2500 signatures to a petition which was later sent to all Senators and Congressmen from California. The group has also mounted a massive letter-writing campaign to the Congressmen in support of the Gallagher Amendment. They have also been meeting with many Church heads in San Francisco to solicit help and support.

Los Angeles :

The Los Angeles group informs us that they have contacted the Longshoreman’s Association at Los Angeles and have received assurances from them that they will not load any military goods on any ship destined for Pakistan.

Champaign-Urbana :

The group has arranged for a regular weekly film show of renowned international movies to raise funds for Bangladesh. They have already shown “Nayak” by Satyajit Roy on July 23rd. The film show was followed by refreshment in which Bengali food items were sold to raise funds. About $250 were raised. The next picture to be shown will be “Day Shall Dawn” the first Bengali picture produced in East Bengal which won international acclaim at the Moscow Film Festival.

Madison :

The Bangladesh Liberation Committee of Madison has set up a permanent table at the Student Union of the Madison campus of the University of Wisconsin for distribution of literature on Bangladesh. For the last one month the group, composed almost exclusively of Americans, has been distributing literature and selling buttons supplied by the BDL. They have recently written an article for the Capital Times, the largest circulating newspaper in Madison, which was given prominent position in the newspaper. Recently they collected about 1500 signatures on a petition urging that all military and economic aid be stopped to Pakistan till its military withdraws from Bangladesh. The petition was sent to all Congressmen and Senators of Wisconsin.

Philadelphia :

The Friend’s of East Bengal have continued to be alert for any in-coming Pakistani vessel in their area. If and when such vessel appears in the Baltimore harbor this group plans to picket and obstruct loading of any arms and ammunition to Pakistan. They have already gotten assurances from the Longshoremens Union that arms and ammunitions will not be loaded by members of this union. The group has already distributed thousands of leaflets in the neighboring areas to make known their cause.

BDL PRESIDENT VISITS SAN FRANCISCO AND HOUSTON :

The President of the BDL visited San Francisco on July 18 to meet with the representatives of Bangladesh groups on the West Coast. A meeting was hold on that occation with representatives from the Bay area and the Los Angeles group. The meeting named a member from the Bay area to the Board of Directors of the BDL. The Los Angeles group will also select one person to the Board of Directors after their next general meeting.

The BDL President visited Houston, Texas on July 21st and met with the representatives of the South-West zone of Bangladesh Defense League. Among the things the group suggested was efforts should be made to merge all the three newsletters now being published in North America and have only one central Newsletter.
(We welcome the idea. We will get in touch with the other two groups concerned : Editor Bangladesh Newsletter.)

Bangladesh Mission in New York :

Mr. Mahmud Ali, Bangladesh Government representative in New York writes :

“Please send as many letters as possible to the Director, Human Rights Division, United Nations, New York 10017 requesting dispatch of a team to East Bengal to investigate violations of human rights”.

Bangladesh Mission address is : 10 E. 39th Street, New York, N.Y. 10016. Room 1002A Phone (212) 685-4530.

HUMAN RIGHTS IN EAST BENGAL : 22 GROUPS BID UN ACT ON PAKISTAN :

Twenty-two international organizations, led by the World Federalists and the International Commission of Jurists, on July 20, petitioned the UN to take action against the “gross violations of human rights” that have occurred in East Pakistan.

The 22 non-governmental groups, all linked to the U.N. and having the right to testify in U.N. forms, asked for a hearing before a sub-committee of the U.N. Human Rights Commission that deals with discrimination and the protection of minorities. The sub-committee is scheduled to open its reuglar meeting on Aug. 2.

LETTER FROM A READER :

Following is a letter received from one of our readers. Even though a newsletters of our type has little scope to print individual letters, we think it important to print this letter :

Dear Sir :

I am sure that by this time some of us has road the June-July issue of the PAKISTAN FORUM. From this and its previous issues, specially April-May issue one can see that the Pakistan Forum and its management is supporting the cause of Bengalis of Bangladesh for its liberation. Therefore, I think that all Benaglis of Bangladesh not only should read it but they should also help the management of Pakistan Forum so that non-Bengali Pakistanis can read it.

I, therefore, like to request you to please send a circular to all your local chapters requesting them to appeal to all its members and also appeal to all readers of your periodical “Bangladesh Newsletter” to send $10.00 to Pakistan Forum as one years subscription, though the rate of subscription is $7.00. Because this extra $3.00 will help them send one copy to Non-Bengali Pakistani who don’t believe in Bangladesh. Because of its support of Bangladesh, the Pakistan Forum has lost some of its subscribers.

Address of the Pakistan Forum is : Mr. Feroz Ahmed, General Editor, Pakistan Forum, 1900 South Charles Street, #22-D, Greenville, N.C. 27834.

ATTENTION :

1) The Bangladesh National Anthem on record. The BDL has made arrangements with a recording company in this country to produce a 45 r.p.m. disc record containing the national anthem of Bangladesh : “Amar Sonar Bangla”. Already the preliminary recording has been completed. Two renowned singers from Bangladesh sang the anthem for the recording. The record will be available from the Bangladesh Defense League office. Please place your orders with our office.

2) We have reprinted several thousand copies of a booklet entitled “Why Bangladesh” (46 pages) originally published by the public Relations Department, Government of Bangladesh. We would like to sell this book in order to raise funds and also for publicity. We would like our readers to help. Please let us know how many copies you want for yourselves and how many you can sell. We would like to sell it at 50c a piece.

3) Senator Kennedy is expected to make a trip to the refugee camps in India sometime in August. Please write commending Senator Kennedy on his action and ask your friends to write too.

4) The format of the brochure for Bangladesh Emergency Welfare Appeal (BEWA) has gone to the press. As soon as it is ready we will send it to different groups. The brochure may be distributed personally or mailed to prospective donors. We will send a copy of the brochure to each of our readers with our next newsletter.

5) The Bangladesh Information Center in Washington, D.C. has brought out its first newsletter which contains many useful informations about lobbying activities etc. If you haven’t received your copy please send your address to the Bangladesh Information Center, 418 Seward Square, Apt. 4, Washington, D.C. 20003 (Phone : 202-547-3194).

SPECIAL NOTE :

Below is a draft of a letter which could be sent Congressmen and Senators. If your Senators and Congressmen have already indicated support for the Gallagher amendment or the Saxbe-Church amendment, it would be helpful if you would write them brief notes indicating your approval of the position each has taken. Senators or Congressmen with some sort of national constituency (such as Paul McCloskey or Harold Hughes) will undoubtedly take into account the opinions of persons writing to them from other states, particularly on an issue which doesn’t affect the home-town voters very much.

Dear Senator :

Knowing of your interest in international affairs and American foreign policy, we would like to convey to you our concern on the question of U.S. aid to Pakistan. The situation in East Pakistan, far from returning to normal, has deteriorated in the past several months. The report of a World Bank mission to East Pakistan last month confirms, beyond any doubt, the existence of widespread fear, death, and destruction, as well as the disruption of normal activities. Bengalis continue to fear for their lives on a daily basis ; the economic life of the area has been almost totally disrupted ; and the food situation threatens to become desperate.

As long as the American Government continues to support the Pakistan Government with military and economic aid, it is, in effect, supporting the repressive action of the Pakistan army and its persistent brutality toward a civilian population. As you know, eye-witness accounts have revealed that American planes, tanks and armoured personnel carriers have been used in East Pakistan, and four Pakistani ships have carried militray equipment from the United States to Pakistan since the outbreak of difficulties March 25, despite the imposition of a State Department ban on such shipments. On the basis of its fact-finding mission to East Pakistan, the World Bank recommended to the Aid-to-Pakistan Consortium that it temporarily suspend aid to the Government of Pakistan. Ten of the eleven consortium members have agreed to follow this recommendation. Only the United States is continuing its aid program. In the face of this evidence—eye-witness accounts, evaluations done by reporters admitted to East Pakistan, and the World Bank mission’s report—it is inexcusable that the United States continue aid to Pakistan.

Therefore, we urge you to support an amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 which is being proposed by Senators Saxbe and Church (Congressmen Gallagher in the House). This amendment calls for the suspension of all U.S. aid to the Pakistan Government until there has been peaceful political accommodation in East Pakistan as determinated by international observers. We are convinced that only firm Congressional action will result in the cessation of U.S. involvement in this tragic situation. In no way could American interests or the real interests of Pakistan be served by continuing to assist a regime which savagely suppresses its own people, flaunts the democratic processes demonstrated in the elections of last December, causes a flood of more than seven million refugees to a neighboring states, and threatens the peace, security and development of the entire sub-continent.

Sincerely yours,

WHERE SHALL WE KEEP THE DEAD?

Shamsur Rahman

Where shall we keep the dead?
Where is the perfect cemetery?
This soil here, the mountain there,
Even the blue depth of the ocean—
Everything has turned rotten, insignificant.
So we have buried the dead today
Not under the earth, not on the mountain,
Not even in the depth of the ocean,
But in the heart of each one of us.

Translated from Bengali
by
Farida Majid

LATE NEWS : RESISTANCE

We have just received the following dispatch from our Bangladesh correspondent. He is in close touch with the Mukti Bahini and the Bangladesh Government. We hope, from now onwards, to bring you resistance news directly from the field. The following dispatch was sent on July 29, 1971 :

Dacca Sector : Commandos activities are continuing in and around Dacca. A bomb was thrown at ‘Shanghai’ restaurant by Mukti Bahini guerrillas which killed three Pakistani Army officers who were dining.

Pakistani Collaborator Mahmud Ali’s (Vice President of Pak Democratic Party) house was bombed by our Commandos which killed two of his family members.

Secondary Education Board building was damaged by bomb explosion thrown by Commandos of Mukti Bahini.

Another bomb was thrown by Commandos of Mukti Bahini at a West Pak Police Vehicle at Road 2 Dhanmondi destroying the said vehicle and killing four policemen including one officer.
On July 22, 1971 a bomb exploded near Kamalapur Railway Station, a place 3.2 kilomiters from the hotel where Tunku Abdur Rahman, Prime Minister of Malaysia, was staying. He came to examine the situation prevailing in Bangladesh.

Rail coimmunication between Dacca and Bhairab Bazzar has been disrupted by Mukti Bahini who blew up a railway bridge between Bhairab Bazzar and Narsingdhi.

A number of key gan pipelines has been blown up by guerillas on July 25 which was totally deprived Dacca of its supply.

Though backed by superior fire powers The Occupation Army of Pakistan was being increasingly defeated everywhere in Bangladesh. Mukti Bahini guerrillas are storming all positions of the Occupation Army inflicting heavy casualties on them. By the nightfall Pak Army confine themselves in their barracks out of fear and never come out before dawn to carry out their brutalities, genocide and other allied activities.

Western Sector : The Mukti Bahini Comamndos blasted their way to Kumarkhali, Kooksha, Chitra and Alamdanga areas of Kushtia district despite deserate attempts of Occupation Army to stop them. A railway bridge at Kumarkhali was destroyed. Four Pakistan soldiers who were guarding the said bridge were also killed. Guerrillas also destroyed the transformer of Meherpur Power House. In Jessore canal bridge over Jessore Narail Road was also demolished.

Rajshahi town was raided on July 21 by guerrillas who captured four Pakitan para-military personnel and two of their “quislings”.

Freedom figheters also attacked an Occupation Army outspost and killed a J.S.O. and twenty soldiers and captured a large number of automatic arms. On July 24 Mukti Bahini guerrillas killed approximately half a dozen soldiers at Terakhada village in Khulna. While in another encounter at Bhadulia area Pakistan troops suffered heavy casualities. Three Pakistan soldiers wee also killed near Mogalhat.

It has been reported that our Liberation Forces have launched heavy attack on Pakistan Army position and liberated Talagaccha Bazzar near Satkhira, Khulna recently.

Sylhet Sector : On July 25 Mukti Bahini guerrillas carried out massive offensive on Pakistan Army positions at Shahbajpur railway station, Sylhet and killed 40 Pakistan soldiers lost 28 men when Mukti Bahini guerrillas attacked Jafflong area, Sylhet.

Comilla Sector : Bangladesh Forces raiding tea garden areas in Comilla Sector. One West Pakistan Captain Bakhari of 53 Field Regiment Artillery was killed by guerrillas in Saldanadi area recently. Pakistan Army officer Captain Khurshid Omar of 3 FF was killed with seven soldiers in another operation near Comilla town.

Chittagong Sector : One Lt. Col. and twenty soldiers were killed by Mukti Bahini guerrillas near Bagen Bazzar, Heyakko in Chittagong Hill Tracts. It is learnt that the said Lt. Col. came to inspect the recently occupied border outpost at Ramgar and on his return journey was ambushed and killed by the Liberation Forces.
This week Occupation Army suffered :

Soldiers killed	403
Collaborators killed	19
Vehicles destroyed	3 jeeps
	2 Army Speedboats
	1 Gun boat
Power stations destroyed	5
Bridges destroyed	7
Arms captured by Mukti Bahini	3 L.M.G.
	4 S.M.G.
	30 lbs. TNT
	10 Anti-personnel Mines

Issued by

BANGLADESH DEFENSE LEAGUE
5245 S. Kenwood Avenue,
Chicago, Illinois. 60615

Sparkman,	Alabama	Aiken,	Vermont
Mansfield,	Montana	Scott,	Pennsylvania
Symington,	Missouri	Pearson,	Kansas
McGee,	Wyoming	Spong,	Virginia