পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (সপ্তম খণ্ড).pdf/৬৩৪

600 বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র : সপ্তম খণ্ড By this time the course of the war was obvious. The front was crumbling and from within Dacca the situation seemed very similar to Berlin in early 1945. When Peter wheeler and myself went to see Dr. Malik at Governor’s House he was in a Cabinet meeting but came out and led us to his ADC's Office. He asked for personal advice on his own situation. I told him I thought he and his Ministers were in grave and imminent danger of being killed and that unless he sought refuge in the Neutral Zone t the Inter Continental Hotel immediately he probably would not survive the night. However, in order to gain admission to the Neutral Zone they would have to resign from all official functions. He said that his Cabinet was at that moment considering whether or not to resign but they were reluctant to do so. He himself felt that he should not resign s, he said, in the eyes of history it would look like desertion if he resigned to that moment. He then asked if he could send his wife and daughter to the Neutral Zone. I replied that although his wife and daughter would certainly be admitted to the Neutral Zone t the Hotel Inter Continental, this would not achieve his purpose: the Hotel was full of journalists and they would say that Dr. Malik had so lost confidence in the future that he was sending his family into safety and they would then ask when he himself was coming. At that moment Governor’s House shook violently under several heavy explosions. It was clear that the building had come under direct attack from the Indian Air Force and Peter Wheeler and myself immediately left, jumping over the balustrade, and I took shelter under a jeep about five yards away. There were about six Indian planes which made two strikes each on the building with rockets and then followed up with cannon. During the first part of this attack Muzaffar Hussain, then Chief Secretary, emerged looking very pale and we exchanged wan salutations. As the strikes on Governor’s House continued, I ran to a trench about 20 yards away which was already full of soldiers and lay on top of them. All this time I kept a running commentary on the action over my handset radio (“walkie talkie”) to Paul Marc Henry to the UN location. General Farman Ali ran past, also looking for shelter” and said to me s he passed! “Why are the Indians doing this to us?” Under the circumstances, as the Indian, aircraft wore continuing to attack the building some 20 yards away with rocket and cannon fire, it did not seem a own shelter. The sound of the attacks were deafening but eventually they stopped and I got into my car, picked up Peter Wheeler, and returned to the UN Location. At the UN Location I informed Mr. Paul Marc Henry of what had happened and met there Mr. Gavin young of “The Observer”. Gavin young told me, with a confidence which was subsequently proven very mistaken, that it would be at least an hour before the Indian Air Force could returns they would have to go back to Indian to refuel and reload. He suggested that we return to Governor’s House to see what had happened there. I agreed, and drove Gavin Young in my car back to Governor’s House. We were met there by the Military Secretary who informed us that Dr. Malik and his Cabinet had taken shelter in a bunker in the left of the Governor’s House. He took us there