Bulk of E Pak population alimated against Pindi
Senator Kennedy description of the food situation in East Pakistan contrasted with that given by a senior Pakistan Official. Mr. M. M. Ahmed, after he conferred with President Nixon on Tuesday.
Mr. Ahmed, who is seeking further economic aid for Pakistan from the USA and international donors, told newsmen that East Pakistan faced no immediate threat of famine, although it needed some help to get food distributed.
Mr. Ahmed described current stocks of wheat and rice in East Pakistan as “the largest quantity we have even had.”
He conceded “there are pockets of food shortage in some sports where labour dislocation has reduced purchasing power”, but said “the general and provincial governments are giving top priority to getting food distribution channels working at full pace.”
Mr. Ahmed, who gave no details of Pakistan’s aid requests, conferred on Tuesday with Mr. Robert McNamara, President of the World Bank.
Mr. Cornelius E. Gallagher (Democrat). Chairman of the subCommittee, said: “The countryside of East Pakistan is the equal of the countryside of South Vietnam in providing natural surroundings for insurgency and the fighting thus far has produced reports of savage atrocities.
“Putting this together, we seem to have a situation which is potentially equal, in terms of human misery, to a combination of Vietnam and Biafra
Prof. Gidon Gottlieb, an international law expert at the New York University School of Law, testified: “We may be witnessing something of the nature of the Nigerian-Biafran scale.”
Senator Kennedy said US foreign aid should be withheld from Paksitan until a serious relief effoert is begun in East Bengal.
Mr. Kennedy said he opposed a permanent halt of foreign aid to Pakistan but felt that “aid should continue to be withheld until a serious relief effort is started.”
He said because Pakistan was on the verge of hankruptcy the US Government was in a position to exert strong influence on the issue.
Both Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Gallagher said they had received reports that fighting in East Bengal had broken out again.
Senator Kennedy appealed “to the leaders of Pakistan, to the leaders of other countries, and to our own Government to support immediately a mercy mission and airlift into areas of need”.
The Senator also urge that the US Government grant assistance requested by India to meet refugee needs of East Benaglis who have fled there.
He said that two million East Bengalis have fled to India since March 25. An estimated 50,000 refugees continued to fee to India each day.
Mr. Kennedy said. “The Pakistan Army controls only the cities and towns in East Bengal, but in most of the countryside government administration and services do not exist.”
Mr. Gallagher said that because of military aid to the Central Government “it appears that our arms in conjunction with those supplied by other governments are being used to defeat the people who won the election.
Reference: Hindustan Standard 18.5.1971