পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (চতুর্দশ খণ্ড).pdf/৪৫৩

421 বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ চতুর্দশ খন্ড may have recently stepped up tactical support for the guerrillas. They have been helped b) the dispersal of Pakistani troops around the frontier over the past two weeks. The guerrillas' success in the interior has apparently led to increasing retaliation by Pakistani forces against Indian border areas suspected of harboring them. There are daily reports of shillings of villages and in a few cases Indian areas are said to have been strafed by Pakistani aircraft. Boyra is in an area that was shelled last week. An indications are that the Indian troops camped there have not crossed into East Pakistan to help the guerrillas. Whether they support them in other ways is a matter of bitter dispute. While the Indians deny that they do. Pakistan as a matter of routine describes the guerrillas as Indian agents or puppets. Major Huda denied that his men receive arms or training from the Indians. He attributed what he described as it significant increase in the number of weapons available to his men in the past few weeks to the increased capture of rifles distributed by the Pakistani Army to loyal civilians. Rut there are persistent reports that a major influx of new arms began coming into the Indian border areas about 10 days ago. According to one version, which cannot be confirmed, Indian arms deliveries to the guerrillas were stepped up after the Soviet Union assured India that it would replace Soviet weapons sent on to the rebel forces. Wounded guerrillas are sent across the border into India for medical care, and the villagers in his area receive food from the Indian Red Cross and from Oxfam, Major Huda said. The guerrilla and the Indian military also undoubtedly exchange intelligence. Observers feel that official leaks in New Delhi to the Indian press, confirmed by reliable Indian sources here, show a detailed knowledge on the Indian side of the positioning of Pakistani forces throughout country. The apparent growing cohesion within the Mukti Bahini and the emergence of officers like Major Huda as de facto district administrators are trends that are being carefully scrutinized by Western observers. "Some of us assume that East Pakistan will in fact be an independent country at some point," said one Western diplomat. "We don't know if it will take six months or six years. But if it does happen there will be a new generation of leaders who have been formed in the guerrilla battle, and it will be important to know what they are." - Washington Post.