Pakstani soldiers continue to kill, loot, burn

September 23, 1971

MALIK RULES OUT UN DEBATE ON BANGLADESH

Adam Malik, president of the 26th UN General Assembly, said the East Pakistan crisis should be resolved through bilateral talks between India and Pakistan. He ruled out a debate on the East Pakistan situation in the UN General Assembly. The situation was an internal political matter and as such should not be discussed in the world forum, he said.

PAKISTANI ATROCITIES CONTINUES

The New York Times, quoting refugees from East Pakistan, reported today that the Pakistani army and its civilian collaborators were continuing to kill, loot and burn despite the central government's public avowals that it was bent on restoring normalcy and winning the confidence of the Bangalee people.

The newspaper pointed out that nearly all the latest arrivals were Hindus and they came from Faridpur. The refugees said the military regime was still making the Hindu minority its particular target. They said the guerrillas were active in their areas and that the army carried out massive reprisals against civilians after every guerrilla raid.

According to the refugees, continued The New York Times, the army left much of the "dirty work" to its civilian collaborators -- the Razakars -- and to the supporters of right-wing religious political parties such as the Moslem League and Jamaat-e-Islami. The collaborators acted as intelligence agents and enforcers for the army by pointing out homes and villages and people who had helped the guerrillas.

BANGALEE EMPLOYEE ESCAPES PAKISTAN CHANCERY

A Bangalee employee in the Pakistan high commission in New Delhi, SM Nurul Huda, today made a daring escape when he scaled the chancery wall to free himself from confinement in his official residence.

Shortly after his escape from what he described as prison life, Huda, 27, contacted the Bangladesh mission to declare his allegiance to the "legitimate government of my motherland". He was attached to the high commission as a supervisor in the telephone exchange. When he met newsmen later, he betrayed his concern for his wife now in Bangladesh.

"I know it is a big risk dodging two armed West Pakistani guards inside our quarters. But I had no choice; I just could not bear it any more. I appeal to you to rescue my colleagues who are being treated like prisoners inside the chancery."

He added that Bangalee employees in the Pakistan high commission had been held as hostages and were being subjected to all kinds of indignities.

ON THE WAR FRONT

In the Rangpur-Dinajpur-Rajshahi sector, Mukti Bahini raided Pakistani troops near Khanpur, killing three enemy soldiers and injuring two others. In another operation, Mukti Bahini ambushed a mixed patrol of Pakistani troops and Razakars near Hilli-Panchbibi area killing six soldiers and two Razakars. Another group of Bangladeshi guerillas fired on Pakistani troops near Karia and killed seven.

In the Mymensingh-Sylhet sector, one boat carrying Pakistani troops was sunk by Mukti Bahini while attempting to cross near Lubhachra. In this operation, they killed 10 enemy soldiers.

Shamsuddoza Sajen is a journalist and researcher. He can be contacted at [email protected]