June 28, 1971

Pakistani President Yahya Khan, in a letter dated June 28, 1971, expressed his disappointment to American President Richard Nixon at Pakistan Aid Consortium's decision to withhold further aid to the country until the Pakistan government reveals what sort of political settlement it envisages for East Pakistan.

"All these developments have led to a strong and widespread public reaction in Pakistan. It is most unfortunate that all this should have happened at this juncture. It can only make more difficult the task of a political settlement," said Yahya.

He interpreted the decision as a "consequence of Indian pressure tactics".

He further said, "In response to these developments I had no choice but to declare in unequivocal terms in my broadcast of today that external assistance with political strings will be unacceptable to Pakistan."

Yahya requested Nixon to exercise his influence over the Consortium members including the World Bank and said, "In view of the friendly relations between our two countries and your personal interest in Pakistan's integrity and well-being, you will prevent the present ambiguity and misunderstanding from becoming a source of further strains in Pakistan's relations with the Western world. This is something which we should in our joint interest try to prevent."

AWAMI LEAGUE BANNED

Yahya announced today that Awami League had been banned. He ruled out, in effect, the formation of any East Pakistan-based political party to replace the now-banned Awami League saying that under guidelines he had given the constitutional committee, the new constitution would not permit the existence of any political party which is confined to a specific region and which is not national in scope.

He said there would not be fresh elections before the new constitution was introduced.

He stressed that the results of the provincial and national elections held last December and January would stand, although there would be by-elections to fill the seats of some Awami League leaders who were disqualified for engaging in "antistate activities".

In the nation-wide broadcast Yahya declared that he had set up a committee to draft a constitution so that Pakistan could return to civilian rule. He hoped to transfer power to elected representatives in a matter of four months or so. "The precise timing will naturally depend on the internal and external situation at the time," he said.

US SAYS IT WILL CONTINUE AID TO PAKISTAN

The Nixon Administration reaffirmed today that it intended to provide economic aid to Pakistan despite international pressures to halt foreign assistance.

Most of the 11 nations forming the Aid to Pakistan Consortium had concluded that assistance, running at about $500 million a year, should be withheld pending a political settlement of the crisis.

The World Bank, which coordinated assistance to Pakistan, had recommended against further aid. Britain, Canada and Belgium, among other members of the consortium, have taken a similar stance.

Their positions emerged at an informal meeting of the consortium held in Paris on June 21, 1971 to receive the report of a World Bank mission that toured Pakistan.

Shamsuddoza Sajen is a journalist and researcher. He can be contacted at sajen1986@gmail.com