Delhi, Aug. 11
As the secret trial of Shaikh Mujibur Rahman began in West Pakistan today, a spokesman for the banned Awami party announced that a large number of West Pakistan hostages, who were captured by East Bengal guerrillas, would be killed the moment Shaikh Mujib was sentenced to death.

Mr Mizanur Rahman Chowdhry. the organizing secretary of the Awami League, told journalists that the Liberation Army, on the instructions of the provisional government of Bangla Desh. would kill the hostages the moment “one hair on the shaikh’s head is harmed”.

Mr Chowdhry said that most of the hostages were West Pakistan officers and soldiers captured during the initial stages of the civil war. He refused to reveal the number of hostages, but said that a large number of troops had been taken prisoner.

He said he would like to warn President Yahya Khan that the Bengalis would not be held responsible for the “terrible” consequences if Shaikh Mujib were executed. “I would like to warn President Yahya Khan that if he harms Shaikh Mujib in any way a terrible wave of vengeance will sweep through East Bengal. We might not be able to achieve much now but we will avenge his death in a befitting manner.

“Let President Yahya Khan reflect upon his actions. I would remind him that there are only four and a half divisions of Pakistan troops to protect the three million West Pakistanis who are living amongst 70 million Bengalis. I can tell him that as long as one Bengali remains alive we shall not forget any action which would harm the shaikh. It will be death for death.”

Mr Chowdhry went on to make a plea to the international community to intervene on behalf of Shaikh Mujib.

“There are two points that world leaders should bear in mind”. he said. “If they believe that Pakistan is one country then how can President Yahva Khan, who has no mandate from his people, try the shaikh who is the majority leader not only in East Pakistan but in the country as a whole?
“On the other hand, if they believe that Pakistan has split in two, how can President Yahya Khan try the president of a sovereign state? He will be putting the collective will of over 70 million Bengalis on trial”, Mr Chowdhry said.

While other members of the provisional government have not aired their apprehensions in public, they fear that Shaikh Mujib is already dead and the regime of Yahya Khan is. in fact, staging a farcical trial to assuage world opinion.

“We are beginning to believe that the West Pakistan Army might have killed the shaikh shortly after he was arrested in March and they are going through with the pretence of a trial to justify a secret execution a senior Awami Party official said today.

He added: “We would like the world to at least persuade President Yahya to produce the Shaikh before impartial observers to ascertain whether he is alive or not. If President Yahya refuses to meet this request then he has surely executed our leader without a trial.”

A team of British lawyers, who had been briefed on the
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Plea to save Shaikh’s life

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shaikh’s behalf, had been refused access to the Bengali leader and the regime had announced that he would be allowed a Pakistani defence team of his own choosing. But the latest reports from Pakistan indicate that the Government has made an arbitrary announcement that Shaikh Mujib had refused counsel and the Government would therefore provide him with its own defence team.

Delhi, Aug 11.—Mrs Gandhi, the Indian Prime Minister, has appealed to 23 heads of government around the world to use their influence to save the life of Shaikh Mujibur Rahman.

In identical messages sent yesterday, she said India fears the trial of Shaikh Mujib “will be used only as a cover to execute him.”

Dacca. Aug 11.—A terrorist bomb today shattered the lobby of the Dacca Intercontinental Hotel, seriously injuring five persons, including an American engineer. The bomb, hidden in the men's washroom, blew out plate glass windows, tore a gaping hole in the roof and buried a woman under piles of concrete.—AP.

Whitehall’s concern

The British Government has expressed its concern about the fate of Shaikh Mujib during recent private discussions between Sir Alec Douglas-Home and the Pakistan High Commissioner in London . A public appeal to save his life had been considered, but it was felt in Whitehall that private appeals would carry more weight.
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