Delhi. April 15
Three events transformed the civil war in East Bengal today into a potential flashpoint for an international conflict which could shake the foundations of the Indian subcontinent and Southern Asia.

In quick succession today Mr. Kenneth Keating the American Ambassador in India. declared that the situation in East Bengal could no longer be considered an "internal affair", the Indian Foreign Office issued a strong warning to Pakistan over alleged attacks on Indian frontier villages and Mr. Z. A. Bhutto, the West Pakistan leader, hinted at a coming Indo-Pakistan conflict.

As the Indian and Pakistan attitudes continued to harden today, the American Ambassador told journalists in Bombay that the tragic events in East Pakistan were the concern of the international community and could not be treated strictly as an "internal affair" of Pakistan.

Mr. Keating is reported to have told Indian journalists that the phrase "internal affair" was part of an international code but in certain circumstances it would have to be reviewed. According to the United States position the phrase was "limited to the geographic fact that what is taking place there is within Pakistan's territory."

"It is certainly not a case that we are not concerned with what is happening there. The phrase 'internal affair' is rather technical and in a sense it implies indifference. We do not accept this position”, he said.

Mr. Keating also repeated the State Department's announcement that arms supplies to Pakistan had been stopped and that economic aid to Pakistan was under consideration and review.

Meanwhile, as fighting near the East Bengal frontier threatened to provoke a major harder incident between India and Pakistan today, the Foreign Minister in Delhi sent a strong protest Note to the Pakistan High Commissioner alleging that the Pakistan Army had fired on Indian border villages.

The Note, which was couched in strong language, warned President Yahya Khan that the Indian Government would hold Pakistan "solely responsible for any of the consequences that may ensue" if the Pakistan Army continued to fire into Indian territory.

The Indian protest Note confirms fears that a border conflict which could precipitate a war might start at any moment if Pakistan troops pursue the retreating members of the East Pakistan Rifles across the Indian border.

I can confirm that many members of the rebellious East Pakistan Rifles have been pushed to the western borders of East Bengal and have now sought sanctuary in India and set up bases just inside Indian territory.

According to the Indian Note, the Pakistan Army troops in the Dinajpur area in north-west Bengal have been firing on Samjia village on the Indian border. The Note also alleges that the Pakistan armed forces have concentrated near the frontier adjoining Tripura. Troops in the Bibir Bazaar area near Comilla, it is alleged, have resorted to "unprovoked firing and are adopting threatening postures along the border".

"The Government of India strongly protests against this wanton unprovoked aggressive activity by the Pakistan armed forces along the Indo-East Bengal border. Suitable instructions should urgently be issued to the Pakistan armed forces that they should immediately stop such aggressive activities", it adds.

In the meantime Mr. Bhutto attacked India and hinted that his country was prepared to meet India in armed conflict. "India has violated all normal and recognized rules of international conduct but it in the past we have resisted and repelled Indian interference and aggression. I know my people are capable once again of responding to this challenge", he said.

Mr. Bhutto went on to attack India's major ally, the Soviet Union, and praise China's support for West Pakistan's assertion that the events in East Bengal were her domestic affair. The former Foreign Minister described a letter from President Podgorny of the Soviet Union to President Yahya Khan as a
Continued on page 6, col. 6, ……
……..Continued from page 1
blatant interference in Pakistan's domestic affairs".

" Once the situation is under control efforts will be made to arrive at a political settlement. We do not need any advice from foreign countries on how we should proceed to settle our internal affairs. We are not a colony which accepts viceregal advice, nor do we fall under the hegemony of another country he added

Earlier today Mr. Keating told another group of journalists that he hoped that the Government of Pakistan would allow Red Cross aircraft to land in Dacca with relief supplies. He said that the first Red Cross aircraft had been turned back at Karachi.

---

Fred Emery writes from Washington: In his Bombay statement Keating has clearly diverged from the publicly expressed policy of the State Department, which has held so far that the Pakistan conflict is indeed an internal matter. But officials here show no disposition to haul him over the coals for publicly venting the Administration's concern at the obvious international implications.

While no one has yet recognized Bangla Desh, the Indian, Russian and Chinese pronouncements, in the State Department view, must be seen as interventions. The United States has also made clear to the Pakistan Government that it disapproves of the fighting, and wishes a political accommodation to be reached promptly with the Bengalis.