Calcutta, April 7
British diplomats are urgently attempting to trace six Britons, including three women, who have been missing since civil war broke out in East Bengal 10 days ago.

The six people were all stranded in the province of Jessore, near its western border, after fighting between the regular West Pakistan troops and East Pakistan Rifles broke out in the last week of March.

The British High Commission in Dacca, which has evacuated the majority of the British community in East Bengal, has not been able to contact Jess..., The Deputy High Commissioner in Calcutta has been asked to watch the western borders for the missing people.

The High Commission here has refused to issue the names of the Britons, but it is known that two couples among them are connected with the jute industry while the 'others are an unmarried woman and a man.

Radio messages in East Bengal indicate that the Liberation Front has apparently established its headquarters in the northern communist stronghold of Nasirabad, and the East Pakistan Rifles' radio network. is being used by a "High Command" to coordinate the fighting and the movement of troops and supplies

Radio messages between the Bengal police outposts, monitored near the border here today, indicate that orders are being issued to various units by a newly established headquarters under the code name Dada, the Bengali term for "elder brother". They appear to be beamed from Nasirabad, Indian radio operators said today.

The radio messages are the first sign that the uprising is now being coordinated by a central command. The Dada station today instructed police bases throughout the country to inform people to listen for "Free Bengal Radio", which is expected to come on the air again.

However, the headquarters has not indicated whether Shaikh Mujibur Rahman, the Bengal leader, is free and leading the movement. It would now seem likely that the shaikh is either dead or under arrest.

The radio reports also indicate that the para-military force, the East Pakistan Rifles and the East Bengal Regiment, are operating under instructions of a high command.

Other messages confirm reports that the Pakistan Army is using aircraft in the north to hold on to its base at the town of Rajshahi, which protects the Hardinge bridge over the Ganges. If the bridge is destroyed, the northern regions of Bengal will be isolated from the south.

A Pakistan Army unit stationed at Rangpur, about 200 miles northeast of Calcutta, sent an urgent message to Dacca today asking for food. This is believed to be an indication that the isolated Army contingents in the main towns are running short of provisions.

Indian intelligence reports received today indicate that the Liberation Front occupied Sylhet, in the eastern region, yesterday. The Pakistan Army, at about battalion strength was said to have retreated to Salutikar airfield, 10 miles from the city. However, Indian observers on the border say that the Army has received reinforcements and a brigade is firmly entrenched in the town.


Our Diplomatic Correspondent writes: The B.B.C. were asked by the British Government yesterday to broadcast to the 120 British nationals in outlying areas in East Pakistan that no further evacuation of British nationals was being organized for the present.


Fred Emery writes from Washington : The United States has urged the Pakistan Government to take " every feasible step" to end the fighting, and to reach a peaceful accommodation with the Bengalis, the State Department disclosed today.

Breaking an official silence imposed while Americans were being evacuated from East Pakistan, American officials also said that disapproval had been expressed to the Pakistan Government over the reported use of American-supplied military equipment in the army's repression of the rebellion.

Officials have also left no doubt of their dismay at Pakistan's failure to respond to repeated offers of international assistance to relieve the suffering in East Pakistan.

American willingness to take part in an international relief effort was emphasized in meetings earlier this week between the Pakistan Ambassador and Mr. Joseph Sisco, the assistant Secretary of State.