KARACHI, May 5 (Reuters)— The Pakistani Government said today that news of slaughter carried out by Awami League members in East Pakistan before March 25 “has been kept strictly secret for fear of reprisals in West Pakistan.”

An official statement said “thousands of bodies have so far been found in Chittagong and Khulna alone.” It added that “a large number of casualties” has also been reported from three other areas.

The eight‐page statement re capitulated the official Government version of the East Pakistan crisis.