Mukti Bahini expanded
September 25, 1971
SYED NAZRUL'S RADIO SPEECH
Acting president Syed Nazrul Islam in a broadcast to the nation over Swadhin Bangla Betar announced that the Mukti Bahini was being enlarged to include naval and air wings. The naval wing, he added, was already active in two major ports inside Bangladesh -- Chattogram and Chalna -- and was causing significant dents in Pakistan's naval strength.
In the course of the six-month old Liberation War, he said, while the Mukti Bahini had grown from strength to strength the Yahya regime had not only become weak but also estranged even from the people of West Pakistan.
The acting president appealed to the UN to recognise Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, in a press briefing held today, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khondakar Mushtaq Ahmad reiterated that "total independence is our goal", and added that the people and the Bangladesh government would not waver from their professed aim.
He regretted that some governments were trying to confuse the issue of Bangladesh by advocating political accommodation, settlement and reconciliation to support and sustain the Yahya regime. He, therefore, wanted these governments to refrain from interfering with the liberation struggle.
He further said the very fact that people of Bangladesh had been able to survive and repulse the brutal attacks by the Pakistani army for 180 days was itself an indication of the intensity of the liberation struggle of Bangladesh and the determination of the people.
ON THE WAR FRONT
In the Rangpur-Dinajpur-Rajshahi sector, Mukti Bahini encountered Pakistani troops at Usalja and killed four enemy soldiers. Another group of Mukti Bahini damaged a railway bridge between Badarganj and Khalahati railway stations under Badarganj police station of Rangpur. As a result, train movement on the line was disrupted.
In the Mymensingh-Sylhet sector, seven enemy troops were killed in an ambush today. Another group of Mukti Bahini today fired on Pakistani troops in Andharmanik area of Sylhet district, killing 15 Pakistani soldiers including one junior commission officer. On the same day, freedom fighters killed three Pakistani soldiers and injured six in Gutirama area.
During September 24-25, Mukti Bahini ambushed Pakistani troops near Karimpur, Handatilla, Chatlapur in Sylhet district and in Ramamadrasa, Thakurchar, Batta and Kendua police stations in Mymensingh district. In these operations, 16 Pakistani troops and 9 Razakars were killed.
A Mukti Bahini raid on Champaknagar BOP, Brahmanbaria tonight inflicted heavy casualties on enemy troops. The raid was carried out with rocket launchers and many bunkers were destroyed.
PAKISTANI MINISTER HURT IN BOMB BLAST
The newly appointed East Pakistan Local Self Government Minister Maulana Mohammad Ishaq was injured today when a time bomb exploded in his car. Maulana Ishaq was admitted to hospital.
PAK COMPLAINT
In a letter addressed to the UN Secretary General U Thant, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Sultan Mohammad Khan complained against what he called "India's open interference in its internal affairs".
Shamsuddoza Sajen is a journalist and researcher. He can be contacted at [email protected]
Comments