It is rather surprising that the worthy columnist has traced events only since March 25, 1971 and not prior.
KARACHI: This is with reference to Dr Akmal Hussain’s article of December 20 titled “The shadow of 1971”. It is rather surprising that the worthy columnist has traced events only since March 25, 1971 and not prior.
His perception of the events taking place in the eastern wing of Pakistan since 1947 is quite far from the facts. He finds the military government, being in power in 1971, the sole culprit for the debacle when he writes that “it chose to use military force as a response to what were essentially political demands of the majority, following the electoral success of the Awami League led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman”.
I would like to correct Dr Hussain. He should consider what happened right after the 1970 elections. It was not the military but rather the PPP that chose to disregard the electoral results and refused to accept the mandate of the Awami League.
Also, it was that party’s leadership which had threatened the newly-elected members of the National Assembly and stopped them from going to Dhaka for attending the inaugural session scheduled for March 1971?
One more thing: military action was ordered on March 25 but the killings of non-Bengali civilians, military/paramilitary personnel from West Pakistan and those Bengalis who were against the Awami League’s movement for secession had started after March 2 with the announcement of postponement of the first session of the newly-elected assembly by General Yahya Khan. The bulk of the reinforcements for the army from West Pakistan moved after March 25 by which time the brutalities by the Mukti Bahini and other nationalist elements were well underway in various parts of East Pakistan. It is high time for the truth to be told on both sides.
Mohammad Ali Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, December 25th, 2011.
