Dawn
12th March 1969
Divergencies appear as DAC leaders speak at RTC:
Daultana, M. Ali differ on One Unit, parity: Nurul Amin elaborates Mujib’s ideas
RAWALPINDI, March 11: Divergent views held by the various leaders of the DAC components came to the surface today when eight of them addressed the Round Table Conference on the constitutional changes that were proposed yesterday at yesterday’s session by the DAC Convener, Nawabzada Nasrullah, and the Six- point Awami League chief, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The conference today held two sessions spread over five and a half hour and then adjourned till 10 a.m. tomorrow.
In the evening session, which lasted a little over two hours, a member of the Pakistan Muslim League team, Sardar Khizar Hayat, also made a speech. Of the main speakers in the morning session, Mian Mumtaz Daultana and Chaudhri Mohammad Ali offered different views on the questions of One Unit and inter- Wing parity.
The Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly. Mr. Nurul Amin, who was among the three DAC leaders who addressed the morning session of the RTC laid stress on the two-point demand agreed upon by the DAC-federal parliamentary form of Government with regional autonomy and direct adult franchise.
At the same time, he supported Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s demand for representation on the basis of population, proportionate recruitment to the armed forces from East Pakistan and transfer of control of foreign exchange to regional Governments and the dissolution of One Unit.
Mian Mumtaz Daultana pleased for parliamentary form of Government direct adult franchise regional autonomy as defined in the PDM’s eight-point programme and dissolution of One Unit. On the demand for representation on the basis of population, he advocated that this system would be ideal if accompanied by a bicameral legislature of some kind of voting system to suit the peculiar conditions.
Chaudhri Mohammad Ali supported the DAC’s two agreed demands. But he opposed the dissolution of One Unit and the removal of inter-wing parity. These issues he argued, could be taken up by the parties either individually or in groups to the electorate so as to implement them through the newly-elected National Assembly.
Opposition leaders who addressed the evening session included Air Marshal Asghar Khan, Maulana Maudoodi, Pir Mohsinuddin. Mr. Hamidul Huq Chowdhury and Mr. Abdus Salam Khan. Pir Mohsinuddin and Mr. Salam Khan also laid stress on regional autonomy and supported the arguments that had been raised by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Maulana Maudoodi was said to have favoured federal Parliamentary system and direct adult franchise, leaving the other issues to be decided by the next Assembly.
Today’s two sessions were devoted mainly to lengthy speeches by Opposition leaders with occasional queries by President Ayub of his team-mates.
The joint statement by the two sides was issued at 9-30 p.m. for the morning session which ended at 1-35 p.m. The joint statement for the evening session was still being drafted at midnight.
Agency reports add: Conference sources said late tonight that the speeches of the participants, who spoke in the evening session, would be released to the Press tomorrow morning.
Mr. Nurul Amin, who opened the day’s deliberations, called for bold political decisions to offset the difficulties that exist because of peculiar geographical situation of the two Wings of Pakistan.
He made an appeal to all concerned to resolve the constitutional problems of Pakistan with the same spirit of brotherhood with which they brought it into existence.
Mr. Nurul Amin referrent to the peculare geographical situation of the two Wings and the location of all the three Services headquarters in the West Wing, and maintained that East Pakistan should be given representation on the basis of population and arrangements should be made to dispose of matters to a very large extent at Dacca by creating responsible offices under the Central Government.
Mr. Nurul Amin thought immediate steps should be taken to release the students who were still in jail and withdraw the cases against them. He said that the students may return to their studies immediately.
…but a source close to the Government side said that it “understanding is developing” between the two sides. The rest you will get in the joint statement”.
APP adds: After the two-hour evening session ending at 9 O’clock, Maulvi Farid Ahmad of the Nizam-i-Islam Party told APP that a lot of ice has been broken and mist cleared” in the conference.
“The line of understanding is now through”, he said.
The President came to the conference with the Law Minister, Mr. S. M. Zafar.
The first as usual, was the Defence Minister, Vice-Admiral A. R. Khan.
Air Marshal Asghar Khan and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had a brief chat before they proceeded to the conference room.
At the table today was placed in advance a copy of the nine page statement of Shaikh Mujibur Rahman Which he had read out at yesterday’s session.
সুত্র: সংবাদপত্রে বঙ্গবন্ধু: পঞ্চম খণ্ড ॥ ষাটের দশক ॥ চতুর্থ পর্ব ॥ ১৯৬৯