পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (ত্রয়োদশ খণ্ড).pdf/৩৭

ংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ ত্রয়োদশ খন্ড শিরোনাম সূত্র তারিখ পাকিস্তানের প্রতি বৃটিশ সরকারের কমনস সভার কার্যবিবরণী ৪ মে, ১৯৭১ দৃষ্টিভংগির পরিপ্রেক্ষিতে প্রধানমন্ত্রীর বিবৃতি ও সংশ্লিষ্ট বিষয়ে বিতর্ক ΡRΕSΗΙΟΕΝΤΥΑΗΥΑΚΗΑΝ (MEETING) Q6. Mr. Barnes asked the Prime Minister when he next plans to seek an official meeting with President Yahya Khan. The Prime Minister: I met President Yahya Khan in Islamabad in January. There are at present no plans for a further meeting, but I have since kept in touch with the President through diplomatic channels. In addition, I had a meeting a week ago with Mr. Arshad Husain, the President's special envoy. Mr. Barnes: Does the Right Hon. Gentleman accept that if a country is involved with another country's affairs, either by supplying arms or by supplying aid that gives that country the right to speak up when events happen as they did in Pakistan? Is the Prime Minister prepared to say to President Yahya Khan that Britain will not enter into any new aid commitments for Pakistan so long as East Bengal is held down by military oppression? The Prime Minister: There are two aspects to this very difficult question. I would agree with the Hon. Gentleman that it is right that we should use all our influence in these circumstances to secure that the President himself has publicly said is his objective, and that is a political solution to the difficulties confronting Pakistan. But the Hon. Gentleman will recall, on further reflection, that British policy on aid has on the whole been to proceed regardless of certain political aspects of a country's national life. I would not, on this occasion, like to say that, that is a principle which should immediately be overthrown. Mr. Braine: In view of what my Right Hon. Friend has said about aid, is he aware that there are now over 1 million refugees from East Pakistan in West Bengal, Tripura and Assam, and that the Indian authorities are encountering increasing difficulty in providing food, shelter and medical supplies? Is there any step he can take to speed international relief to deal with what appears to be an increasingly tragic situation? The Prime Minister: There are, alas, many hundreds of thousands of refugees in West Bengal. The last figure we were given was 600,000 but it may well now be more. We understood that the numbers were increasing at the rate of about 20,000 a day. As to the specific point raised by my Hon. Friend, we are in contact with the private charitable organizations which are arranging the transport of relief Supplies to West Bengal to help the refugees from East Pakistan. Our understanding is that they are hoping to get the first flight-loads away in two days' time.