Pak diplomat quits Delhi mission
Aide, family escape after scaling wall
NEW DELHI Oct. 4 (PTI)—Mr. Humayun Rasheed Choudhury, Minister-Counsellor and Head of Chancery in the Pakistan High Commission here, tonight switched his allegiance to Bangla Desh.
Addressing hurriedly called news conference at his drawing room in a fashionable area of the Capital, Mr. Choudhury said he had decided to sever all links with the military junta in Pakistan and “to humbly dedicate myself to the struggle for the liberation of my homeland.”
His announcement came within a few hours of the escape of his personal assistant. Mr. Fariduddin Ahmed, who along with his wife and four children had scaled the boundary wall to the High Commission to freedom.
In a statement Mr. Choudhury said “history will certainly indict Yahya Khan not only for the fiendish genocide of innocent people but also for having provoked the disintegration of Pakistan.
“It is he, and not Sheikh Mujibur Rehman that should be tried not only for crimes against Pakistan but also for crimes against humanity.
The 13 years old diplomate who joined Pakistan Foreign Service in 1953, had served in various capacities in Rome, Banghdad, Paris, Karachi, Lisbon and Jakarta before he came to Delhi in April this year.
At the Press conference were present his wife, Mrs. Mehjabeen Choudhury, daughter, Miss Nasrien Choudhury (22), and son Mr. Nauman Choudhury 21.
His son who is studying in London is now here on vacation. The daughter is a fashion designer.
Mr. Choudhury said his family had helped him to come out with his decision Mrs. Choudhury said her husband had taken the ‘correct decision” while his daughter added: “I have been wanting my father to do this for a long time.”
With Mr. Choudhury and Mr. and Mr. Ahmed, the number of Bengali employees in the Pakistan High Commission, who had switched allegiance to Bangla Desh, is now 13, including three diplomats. There is one Bengali diplomat and 11 other Bengali staff members in the High Commission.
Mr. Choudhury said he was served with a transfer order a month ago, but it was rescinded within 24 hours. The lone Bengali diplomat, Mr. Reaz Rahman, first Secretary, is under an order to transfer to Islamabad be added.
In reply to an American correspondent’s question if he had sought “political asylum” in India, Mr. Choudhury said the question of seeking political asylum did not arise as he was opting for Bangla Desh.
Mr. Choudhury said the Bengali staff in the High Commission were leading a life of “extreme humiliation and insult” and all of them were suspect and were not given work.
Mr. Choudhury, who had visited West Pakistan three times since March 25, said the people there did not know what was happening in Bangla Desh. “They have never been told what is happening there.”
“There is a tremendous propaganda that India is trying to destroy Pakistan.” Besides, there was the “Hate India” campaign. “Bangla Desh people are made out to be agents of India”.
In his statement, Mr. Choudhury said “reports of inhuman atrocities and indiscriminate killings of an unarmed and peace-loving people seemed just incredible to me.”
Although he had felt the urge to opt for Bangla Desh way back in March during his stay in Bangkok, Mr. Choudhury said “it took me some time to come to a decision.”
“However, now after several trips to West Pakistan where I could get first hand accounts of what actually happened from friends both from Bangla Desh and West Pakistan. I have a full picture of the outrages committed against our people.”
“East Pakistan is now a land where people roam about in a state of dazed horror. Life, honour and human dignity are no longer secure.
Diplomat charges Yahya regime with genocide
“Food is scarce and when available there is no money to buy it. Freedom does not exist.”
The statement said he “clung to the hope that the insanity of Islamabad would be temporary” but “all hopes were dashed when Yahya Khan installed a puppet Government with rag-tag opportunists to help him.”
“These men had either been repudiate by the people or they did not dare to seek a mandate from them in elections. They do not represent anybody.”
“This has finally convinced me that Bengalis can never be free citizens in their homeland within the murderous embrace to Yahya Khan and his barbarous junta, which is also denying the people of West Pakistan the realisation of their aspirations expressed in the elections held in that part of the country.”
A diabolical attempt is being made to turn Bangla Desh into a colony of the type reminiscent of the earliest days of imperialism.” He wanted the world to take note of this and recognise that a man “who has no place in his mind for the humane, moral and political values, has seized power in Islamabad.”
Thirty five-year-old Mr. Fariduddin Ahmed, Bengali stenographer in the High Commission in his office for being “disloyal” to Islamabad.
Mr. Ahmed told newsmen, at the Bangla Desh mission that “Mr. Sajjad Hyder, High Commissioner, and Press Counsellor, Mr. M. I. Butt, charged me this morning with being disloyal to Islamabad.”
“When I asked them to produce evidence of my disloyalty, both of them got furious and beat me up saying, you Bengali traitor get out of the High Commission. We do not want disloyal people like you to stay in the High commission.”
Mr. Ahmed said “fearing that more assaults may overtake me and my family, I had to run away from the High Commission in a hurry. This beating incident is typical of the assaults being inflicted in the Bengalis inside the High Commission.”
Mr. Ahmed, who looked visibly disturbed even after three hours of his escape, said on Sept. 29, the Deputy High Commissioner had called all the Bengali staff members and informed them that no Bengali would be retained in the High Commission.
Accordingly, it was decided that Bengali employees would be transferred to Islamabad in three batches beginning from Oct. 6. They were to travel by train, Mr. Ahmed said.
Welcoming Mr. Ahmed and his family to the fold of freedom fighters, the Bangla Desh mission said “the decision of the High Commission to get rid of all Bengali employees means that Government of Islamabad has accepted the breakup of Pakistan and recognised the independent and sovereign status of Bangla Desh.”
Reference: Hindustan Standard, 5.10.1971