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.
More than 350 scholars signed a statement urging US president Richard Nixon to withdraw his country’s support for Pakistan until there was a peaceful settlement of the India-Pakistan crisis.
Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi called on US president Nixon today at the White House. The two-hour talk covered the Bangladesh issue in substantial detail.
The US President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs Henry Kissinger, in a memorandum sent today, informed President
The US ambassador in Pakistan, Joseph Farland, in a telegram sent today to the US State Department, informed that Pak
US Senator Edward M Kennedy urged the Nixon administration today to support efforts to bring the Bangladesh situation before the United Nations General Assembly in the interests of reaching a political solution.
The Bangladesh problem dominated the talks Indira Gandhi had with Heath today at the British prime minister’s country residence outside London.
US President Richard Nixon, in a letter sent today, appreciated Pakistan President Yahya Khan for his “prompt and positive” response to the US proposal for withdrawal of forces from the border with India.
In a report published today, The New York Times stated that Pakistan’s 29 reception centres for returning Bangladeshi refugees were clean, stocked with adequate food and medicine and well-staffed but the only thing they lacked was refugees.
The New York Times, in an editorial published today, stated, “The growing threat of war between India and Pakistan creates an urgent need for United Nations intervention -- but not on the terms proposed by Islamabad.”
A briefing dated October 27, 1971, prepared for US President Richard Nixon, concluded that the widespread famine with
