পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (চতুর্দশ খণ্ড).pdf/৮৮৪

বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ চতুর্দশ খন্ড শিরোনাম সূত্র তারিখ ৩৫৩। কুটনীতিক বিনিময়ের প্রস্তুতি দি ষ্টেটসম্যান ১০ জুলাই, ১৯৭১ THE STATESMAN, JULY 10, 1971 DECKS CLEARED FOR DIPLOMATS’ REPATRIATION SWISS OFFICIAL TO CONDUCT INTERVIEW PROCEEDINGS From Our Special Representative New Delhi, July 9. - The decks have been cleared for the repatriation of Indian and Pakistani diplomats from Dacca and Calcutta with Pakistan finally agreeing to the modalities for ascertaining the wishes of the 70 East Bengali diplomats who have switched their allegiance to the Government of Bangladesh. The Swiss Ambassador, Mr. Fritz Real, called at the Foreign Office today to convey to the Secretary (East) of the External Affairs the glad tidings from Islamabad. A spokesman of the Ministry told reporter that it representative of the Swiss Government would be in charge of the conduct of the proceedings at which the former Pakistani diplomats are to be interviewed. The need for the interviews arose because of Pakistani insistence that the diplomats, headed by Mr. Hossain Ali, the former Pakistani Deputy High Commissioner in Calcutta were being held under duress. India, for her part had maintained during the protracted negotiations that it was for the Pakistani High Commission to take steps for ascertaining the wishes of the diplomats. Mr. Hossain Ali, who at first had reacted sharply to the idea of being questioned by a Pakistani or third party representative, was finally persuaded to agree to the arrangements "if only to give the lie to the Pakistani allegation about his being held under duress," as a Bangladesh spokesman put it. Under the agreed arrangement, a Swiss representative will put a set of predetermined questions-the substance of the questions has already been agreed to by the parties-to each diplomat in the presence of Indian and Pakistani representatives. Only after the wishes of diplomats have been ascertained will the actual repatriation of the diplomats begin. The Soviet Union and Iran have already offered to airlift the diplomats. Apart from the Pakistani Deputy High Commissioner Mr. Mahdi Masud, who was named Mr. Hossain Ali's successor, there are a handful of Pakistani diplomats-the majority (over 70) were East "Bengalis who now owe allegiance to the Bangladesh Government" at Calcutta who will be repatriated to Karachi, The Indian mission at Dacca, headed by Mr. K. C. Sen Gupta, has a staff of over 130 members who have been living under virtual house arrest ever since the military regime in Islamabad ordered the closure of the mission at the height of the crisis in Bangladesh. Mr. K. C. Sen Gupta has since been named India's ambassador to Addis Ababa.