US military supplies to Pakistan

October 29, 1971

EVERYTHING BUT REFUGEES IN PAKISTAN'S REFUGEE CENTERS

In a report published today, The New York Times stated that Pakistan's 29 reception centres for returning Bangladeshi refugees were clean, stocked with adequate food and medicine and well-staffed but the only thing they lacked was refugees.

"So few refugees are returning to East Pakistan, many observers here believe, that returnees are still far outnumbered by Bengalis fleeing to India even though army units on the border have orders to stop escapes and sometimes shoot them," added the report.

AN EXPLOSIVE ISSUE

Harold Saunders and Samuel Hoskinson, of the US national security council, informed US President's Assistant for National Security Affairs Henry Kissinger today that on the eve of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's visit to the US, a potentially explosive issue concerning US arms supply to Pakistan had arisen.

They said, "It now turns out that some equipment has been released from Defense stocks since March 25—perhaps as much as $2 million worth. So while our total figure of $3.8 million shipped is correct, it is untrue that nothing moved from Defense depots.

"State and Defense believed," the memorandum continued, "until recently that the two statements represented an accurate accounting of our military supply to Pakistan. Much to their surprise, however, a GAO investigating team acting on orders from Senator [Edward] Kennedy has discovered that the initial orders issued by ISA to put the 'hold' into effect were not followed completely by the services and that there has been substantial leakage."

SOVIET AIR OFFICIAL'S VISIT TO INDIA

Air Marshal Pavel Kutaknov, the commander-in-chief of the Soviet air force, arrived today in India for a six-day visit.

The Soviet marshal's visit, following that of Deputy Foreign Minister Nikolai Firyubin, was seen as reflecting the increasingly close ties between India and the Soviet Union.

The Soviet Union was India's largest supplier of arms and the Indian air force had seven squadrons of Mig-21 fighters and five squadrons of Sukhoi-7 fighter-bombers.

ON THE WAR FRONT

In the Dhaka-Comilla-Noakhali sector, the occupation troops while attempting to raid a unit of Mukti Bahini in Nilokhi of Noakhali district today suffered a crushing defeat.

The fight continued for three hours which resulted in the killing of 40 enemy soldiers. Two of the freedom fighters received minor injuries during this action.

In another ambush in Dublachandpur area of the same district, Mukti Bahini killed 12 enemy soldiers. They also captured huge quantities of arms and ammunition.

On the same day, Mukti Bahini launched mortar attacks on occupation troops' position in Noapur area, killing six enemy soldiers. They also destroyed two bunkers of the enemy.

Shamsuddoza Sajen is a journalist and researcher. He can be contacted at sajen1986@gmail.com