'Yahya will be our guest'

Politicians in West Pakistan scrambled to find a solution to the crisis in East Pakistan. Among those who asked General Yahya Khan to accede to Bangabandhu's demands were Mian Mumtaz Daultana, Malik Ghulam Jilani, Khan Abdul Wali Khan and Air Marshal Asghar Khan.
At the same time, criti cism of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto mounted all over West Pakistan. The PPP chairman, however, remained unmoved although he seemed to be lying low compared to his earlier vocal rejection of the Six Points.
In East Pakistan, the Awami League completely ignored Bhutto and his party, preferring instead to focus on its running battle with the military regime. The impression also began to grow that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his colleagues were no more interested in keeping Pakistan as a united entity but were clearly embarking on a course that would lead to constitutional arrangements eventually giving rise to a confederation. The Awami League made it clear that if West Pakistan did not agree to the Six Points, they would not be foisted on it and the four provinces of the western wing were free to adopt their own constitutional means of governance.
Clashes between the army and Bangalees were reported from different areas of Bangladesh. In most instances, crowds of Bangalees did not fail to demonstrate their hostility to the soldiers by openly defying them and making it hard for them to move around. As a result, the army mostly stayed confined to the barracks, a demand that Bangabandhu had made at his March 7 public rally.
Intellectual circles in Bangladesh, including teachers, artists, writers and various professional groups, made beelines for the Dhanmondi residence of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to express their solidarity with the movement. Nationalistic Bangalee songs were broadcast on Dhaka Betar while programmes in favour of the Bangalee struggle filled the schedule of Pakistan Television's Dhaka centre. The general strike went on, with Tajuddin Ahmed regularly coming forth with announcements relating to new directives to the nation on behalf of the Awami League.
Asked by newsmen about the possibility of a visit to Dhaka by President Yahya Khan, Bangabandhu replied that the chief of the junta would be welcomed as 'our guest'.
Observers quickly read between the lines, to draw the conclusion Mujib was making it clear that in East Pakistan he was in charge and Yahya Khan now spoke only for the western part of the country.