পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (চতুর্দশ খণ্ড).pdf/৬২৪

বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ চতুর্দশ খন্ড শিরোনাম সূত্র তারিখ ২১০। পাকিস্তানের আকাশে ম্যানিলা ক্রনিকল ৫ জুলাই, ১৯৭১ বিপর্যয়ের ছায়া MANIIA CHRONICLE, JULY 5, 1971 GUILT AND DISASTER OVER PAKISTAN by Peter Hazelhurst Within the space of a few short weeks both East and West Bengal have suddenly become international trouble spots. Millions of people have been uprooted by civil war, thousands have been killed, famine and disease are already beginning to stalk the countryside and a full scale war between India and Pakistan threatens to break out at any moment. But even more disturbing is the fact that the situation can only deteriorate. World leaders are, of course, talking glibly about the hope that East Bengalis and the West Pakistanis will come to a "political settlement." But even the most naive student of Pakistan affairs knows that a political settlement is out of the question now. In the coming months the legal aspects behind this man made holocaust will be hotly debated in the capitals of the world and on international platforms. But many of the issues which precipitated this convulsion have been clouded by the cries of "secession" or "genocide" and other accusations and counter accusations and if an accusing finger is to be pointed at any single Pakistani leader then one must, at this juncture, take a judicious look at the chronological sequence of events leading up to the rift. It is worthwhile picking up the threads in January, 1970, when President Yahya Khan, who had promised to hand over power to a popular government, lifted the ban on political activity in both East and West Pakistan as the prelude to election of a constituent assembly. To hasten the constitution making process and to assugae the fears of West Pakistanis who believed that integrity of Pakistan might be jeopardized by imagined East Bengali separatists, the President had earlier issued a legal framework order (L. F. 0.) which gave him the right to ratify or reject the constitution. It was already obvious that the former Foreign Minister, Mr. Bhutto would emerge the most popular leader in West Pakistan and the fiery East Bengali leader. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had already demonstrated his strength on the streets of East Pakistan. But as the two leaders launched their campaigns is soon became clear that they were fighting the elections on rigid and diametrically opposed grounds and that there would be hardly any common meeting ground in the assembly. Mr. Bhutto, whose whole political base is essentially founded in the militant Punjabis obsession over the Kashmir dispute, began stomping up and down the western province talking of a thousand-year war with India. And to maintain this attitude he assured his voters that he stood for a strong central government, a strong army and a new offensive to liberate Kashmir. As millions of Pakistanis went to the polls in the country's first free elections last year. General Yahya Khan and his aides waited for the results with bated breath.