PAKISTAN held its first free elections in December 1970. President Yahya Khan appeared sincere in his assertion that he intended to give power to the elected representatives and that he wanted to return to the barracks."

The elections gave Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Awami League 167 of the 169 seats in East Pakistan. By virtue of the numerical strength enjoyed by the eastern wing, the Awami League automatically became the largest single party in the newly-elected National Assembly.

Yahya Khan publicly referred to Sheikh Mujib as the future prime minister of Pakistan. But it soon became obvious that West Pakistani politicians and the generals behind Yahya Khan held other views. Controversy erupted over the Awami League's demand for autonomy for East Pakistan.

Bengali government defectors subsequently revealed that the generals had gone along with the election plan on the basis of intelligence reports that no party would get an absolute majority in lie new National Assembly. This, they hoped, would bring an unviable coalition into power and enable the army to control affairs from the wings.

As negotiations began between President Yahya and Sheikh Mujib over working arrangements, the hard line of he generals came to the fore. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan People's Party, which had emerged as be single biggest party in West Pakistan, counselled the President against falling into a "Bengali trap."

Against mounting popular pressure in Bengal to declare independence, Mujib luck steadfastly to the autonomy demand. The Yahya-Mujib talks failed. In he last few days of the discussions, the army secretly rushed large contingents of troops to East Pakistan. On March 25 Yahya Khan suddenly left Dacca for home. Hours later the army began a massive crackdown in Dacca.

Sheikh Mujib was arrested and taken to West Pakistan. Most other leaders of the Awami League escaped to India. They set up a People's Republic of Bangla Desh. On April 17 they met to announce their declaration of independence and sovereignty. It was a reiteration of the hasty declaration Sheikh Mujib had made on March 26 immediately after the military showdown began in Dacca.

As repression spread throughout East Pakistan, refugees began to head for India. Soon their number reached more than nine million. The Indian government complained about the intolerable strain imposed on its resources, but resisted public pressure to recognise the Bangla Desh government.

The story of the army atrocities in Bengal began to spread across the world, carried by refugees and western evacuees. There was a sense of horror all over the world, but foreign governments refused to take any action on the plea that it was an internal affair of Pakistan.

In an apparent attempt to repair its image, the Pakistan government recalled its military governor from Dacca and appointed a civilian in his place. But there was no let- up in the repression and the refugee exodus continued.

In November India began to put military pressure on the Pakistani Army in East Pakistan through border skirmishes. The Bengali guerillas, now well-organized under the label of Mukti Bahini, successfully stepped up their activities.

As the resistance by the guerillas, aided and abetted by India, assumed the proportions of an undeclared war, the Pakistani Air Force made a sneak attack on Indian airfields on the western sector on December 3. The full- scale India-Pakistan War was now on. On December 6 India formally recognised Bangla Desh.

Pakistan retaliated by breaking diplomatic relations with India. It also set up a civilian government under the prime ministership of Nurul Amin, a Bengali. But its efforts to internationalist the war failed and US attempts to get the UN to condemn India were blocked by the Soviet Union. India marched on to Dacca.