U.K. National Archives

Conclusions of a meeting of the Cabinet held at 10 Downing Street, on Thursday, 8 April, 1971 at 10 a.m

Attendees: E Heath; A Douglas-Home; A Barber; Carrington; G Rippon; M Thatcher; Jellicoe; J Prior; Hailsham; W Whitelaw; K Joseph; R Carr; G Campbell; P Walker; J Davies; F Pym.

Text: The Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary said that the Pakistani Army appeared to 'be in control at least of the major cities of Dacca and Chittagong. Despite the statement of the Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Gandhi, that India would not intervene, there were reliable reports that the dissidents were being supplied with arms from India; their resistance to the Government forces might thus be expected to continue for some time. The Prime Minister had sent a message to the President of Pakistan, General Yahya Khan, urging him to discuss the situation with the East Pakistani leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. This seemed to offer the best hope of restoring calm, although the fact that Sheikh Mujib had been charged with treason was an obvious difficulty. All British subjects who wanted to leave East Pakistan had now done so; some 400 had decided to remain.