Trials shall be held

July 2, 1972

INDO-PAK ACCORD SIGNED

Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistani President Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto signed an agreement for peace today. The agreement is described as a decisive breakthrough towards the objective of a durable peace. The agreement has to be ratified by both countries.

It is reported that Indira Gandhi talked to Bangladesh Prime Minister Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman over the telephone yesterday night. Indira Gandhi is understood to have informed Bangabandhu of the trend of Indo-Pak talks and also Pakistan's view on recognition of Bangladesh and normalisation of relationships between Bangladesh and Pakistan.

BANGABANDHU VISITS KUSHTIA

Bangabandhu today reiterates his firm resolve to try the war criminals on the soil of Bangladesh. Addressing a big meeting in Kushtia he says, "Mr Bhutto, you may hold as many conferences as you like but be sure that the war criminals will be tried on the soil of Bangladesh."

Referring to the recent Lahore speech of Bhutto in which he defended the Pakistani army which committed genocide in Bangladesh, Bangabandhu wonders how Bhutto could issue such a certificate to them.

"Are you not ashamed of what they have done?" he asks Bhutto. Bangabandhu says that the people of Pakistan would certainly feel guilty if they could come to know what kind of atrocities and genocide the Pakistani army had perpetrated in Bangladesh. 

BANGABANDHU'S CALL FOR AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION

Bangabandhu today calls for launching agricultural revolution in the country. He calls upon the farmers to work hard to increase food production. Addressing a mammoth public meeting in Kushtia, the prime minister observes that the peasants constitute the backbone of the nation. Mentioning that the new budget has maximum allocation for the agricultural sector, Bangabandhu declares that he would do everything possible for the development of rural areas. He regrets that in the past, all efforts were directed towards developing the towns. We have done away with this concept of development, he adds.  

SOURCES: July 3, 1972 issues of Bangladesh Observer, Dainik Bangla and Dainik Ittefaq.