The remark of the Indian commander in East Pakistan yesterday that there had been “good” fighting between Indian and Pakistani forces on the embattled subcontinent is illustrative of the military mania that has seized both sides.

This tragic conflict can bring no good to anybody. This includes the cruelly oppressed East Pakistanis whose struggle for total independence can only open up a Pandora's Box of new troubles for the people of “Bangla Desh” and for India as well as for the short sighted military regime in Islamabad.

War will bring fresh misery to the impoverished one‐fifth of mankind that crowds the Indian subcontinent, retarding desperate development efforts in both India and Pakistan. It will generate unpredictable repercussions that could seriously affect the social and political life of both countries and the peace of the world.

Washington's call with others for a Security Council meeting yesterday represented welcome though tragically tardy recognition of these dangers and of the essential role of the United Nations in restoring and maintaining peace. For months the United States resorted to ineffectual secret diplomacy that bypassed and served to paralyze the world organization. The Nixon Administration adopted a public posture of mock even‐handedness which had the effect of exacerbating the India Pakistan conflict. It ignored the fundamental threat to India posed by Yahya Khan's harsh repression in East Pakistan.

The United States Government is still side‐stepping this central issue and is responding with flagrant injustice in attempting to pin the “major responsibility” for the present conflict on India. If Security Council intervention is to have any chance of restoring peace between India and Pakistan, the United States and the United Nations must recognize and deal with the basic problem in East Pakistan.