Pravda

A storm and a tidal wave of tremendous force brought devastation to East Pakistan last November, taking a toll of about 100,000 lives. Many nations expressed sympathy with the grief-stricken people. On the third day after the disaster the Soviet ship Mednogorsk arrived at the port of Chittagong with supplies for the victims.
No sooner had the ravages inflicted by nature been healed than another, an even graver tragedy befell the suffering people of East Pakistan. This time the tragedy was caused by political reasons. The crisis affected, to one degree or another, each citizen of the region with a total population of 75 million.
What had happened? Why did millions of people leave their homes and flee to neighbouring India?
It will be recalled that the general elections to the National Assembly (Parliament) were held in Pakistan last December for the first time in the history of its independent development. Among other political parties taking part in the elections was the Awami League headed by a prominent political leader, Mujibur Rahman.
The Awami League went to the elections with slogans calling for the implementation of the Six-Point Programme advanced by it five years earlier. The gist of this programme lay in granting the provinces broad political and economic autonomy within the Pakistani state which would, as before, look after defence and foreign relations. The programme also demanded progressive socio-economic reforms, in particular, ceilings on land holdings, nationalisation of banks and key branches of in dustry. The foreign policy platform of the League envisaged the promotion of friendly relations between Pakistan and all other countries, including neighbouring India, the withdrawal of Pakistan from the CENTO and SEATO military blocs, etc.
The Awami League won the absolute majority of seats in Parliament (167 out of 313) and should logically have been called upon to form the government. This did not happen, however. Under various pretexts the Pakistani authorities did not allow the Awami League to form the government. Besides, Mujibur Rahman was arrested and accused of "betraying the national interests", and mass repressions with the use of arms, tanks and aircraft began against his followers and the population of East Pakistan.
The crisis touched off in East Pakistan by the repressive actions of the Rawalpindi military authorities has become a source of tension on the entire subcontinent. This tension is arousing justified anxiety of the whole world.
First of all there is the problem of East Pakistani refugees in India whose number is nearing ten million, according to the latest data. The influx of such a large number of destitute people without any means of subsistence is laying a very heavy economic burden on India. It has been estimated that 25 million rupees are being daily spent on the maintenance of the refugees.
One cannot but see that the refugee problem, for which the Pakistani military administration is responsible, has led to a dangerous aggravation in the relations between the two neighbouring states on the Indian subcontinent. Judging from press reports a large number of troops have already been concentrated along the borders dividing India and Pakistan. Not only servicemen but also the peaceful inhabitants on both sides of the border are being killed during the exchanges of fire. The situation is becoming ever more acute and may lead to a military conflict between the two states.
The leaders of the Indian Government point out that India cannot bear responsibility for the maintenance of millions of East Pakistani refugees on its territory
and they justly demand the speediest return of the refugees to their homeland in conditions of guaranteed security. On their part the leaders of Pakistan declare that they are prepared to take back "all genuine Pakistani citizens" that they have already set up reception camps for their return, and that the Indian Government is allegedly "hindering" the repatriation of East Pakistani refugees.
The objective facts, however, show that despite the widely announced amnesty in East Pakistan only an insignificant number of the arrested, judging from the reports of the world press, have been released from jail. The majority of the active members of the Awami League, including the legally elected deputies to the National Assembly and the Legislative Assembly of East Pakistan during the recent elections, continue to languish in prison, and Mujibur Rahman has been put on trial. It is not surprising, therefore, that according to the information of eye-witnesses the reception camps on East Pakistani territory are either completely empty or very few people pass through them on their return from India. At the same time thousands of East Pakistanis daily continue to cross the border in the opposite direction.
The world public notes with anxiety that in West Pakistani cities, including such large cities as Lahore, situated close to the Indian border, demonstrations of chauvinistic elements are being held with official permission ender the slogans of "waging a holy war against India", and "completely crushing" India, etc. There is no need to prove that such actions are not conducive to normalising the relations between the two countries and can only further aggravate the situation.
The refugee problem has created serious difficulties in the relations between India and Pakistan. However, it should not become the cause of a military conflict between them. Many political leaders both in India and Pakistan realise that such a conflict, in case it breaks out, would distract enormous resources of both countries for solving urgent economic and social problems. This would lead to grave human and material sacrifices and, in the final analysis, would create new difficulties.
Indira Gandhi, the Indian Prime Minister, and a number of other Indian leaders have declared that the Indian Government does not want a military conflict with Pakistan.
The existing complications on the Indian subcontinent can be removed on the basis of a political settlement of the East Pakistani problem. The military administration should stop the reprisals against the East Pakistani population and take measures for creating necessary conditions for millions of people to return home. Such a solution would, above all, be in accord with the interests of Pakistan itself and the cause of preserving peace on the subcontinent.
(Pravda, November 23, 1971)