On March 31, 1971, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi moved a resolution in parliament strongly criticising the military action in Bangladesh.
At 4:00am on March 30, 1971, Bangladeshi forces, comprising East Pakistan Rifles (EPR), police and civilians under the leadership of Abu Osman Chowdhury, then a major and commander of the fourth wing of EPR, attacked the Pakistan occupation army in Kushtia from three sides.
In the evening, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was flown via helicopter from the cantonment, where he was detained, to the Tejgaon Airport. Afterwards, he was flown to Karachi by a special military aircraft.
On March 28, 1971, American Consul General in Dhaka, Archer K Blood, sent a telegram to Islamabad and Washington captioned “selective genocide”. He reported that they were “mute and horrified by a reign of terror by the Pakistan military” in East Pakistan. Pointing towards various pieces of evidence, Blood suggested that Awami League supporters and Hindus were being systematically targeted by the martial law administrators.
American Consul General Archer K Blood in a situation report submitted on March 27, 1971, wrote that according to numerous accounts, including eye witness reports, the Pak military crackdown on Bangalee nationalists has been carried out throughout Dacca swiftly, efficiently (despite heavy resistance from some quarters, including pro-Awami League police and East Pak Rifles), and often with ruthless brutality.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in a press statement issued today, called for a general strike throughout Bangladesh on March 27 against the army’s action in certain places in East Pakistan including Saidpur, Rangpur and Joydevpur.
There was a final meeting between Awami League’s team and Yahya’s advisers on March 24, 1971, at 6:00pm.
The representatives of president Yahya Khan and an Awami League team met twice today.
Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Sultan Khan called on US President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs Henry Kissinger today.
Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi said that the international community ought to be given the chance to persuade President Yahya Khan to initiate, within the next week or so, a realistic political solution in East Pakistan.
Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, returning from a three’week Western tour, said today that the military confrontation with Pakistan was becoming “less and less tolerable”.
A Tashkent-type conference is not possible to solve the crisis created by Pakistan. But no problem is unsolvable and that even at the last moment the world can make the Yahya regime see reason and bow to the wishes of Bangalees.
West German chancellor Willy Brandt today said a political solution of the East Pakistan problem must be found. Speaking at a
A nine-day national conference titled “Consultation on the American Response to events in East Pakistan” began today in Washington DC.
The leader of the Soviet parliamentary delegation in India, Kudrayavetsev, described the Bangladesh struggle as a “national liberation movement with elements of civil war in it”. He was speaking at the press club in New Delhi today.
Pakistan President Yahya Khan was today quoted as saying that China would intervene in the event of an Indian attack on Pakistan.
The United States decided to cancel licences for the export of more than $3-million worth of military equipment to Pakistan. The action would in effect shut the controversial arms pipeline that supplied Pakistan with spare parts and other military goods even though the Administration imposed an arms freeze in April, 1971.
China called on India and Pakistan today to find a peaceful solution to their frontier dispute, but warned that it would “resolutely support” Pakistan in the event of war.
