29 বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ চতুর্দশ খন্ড শিরোনাম তারিখ সূত্র ১৪। পাকিস্তানে গৃহযুদ্ধ নিউইয়র্ক উইক ৫ এপ্রিল, ১৯৭১ NEWSWEEK, APRIL 5, 1971 PAKISTAN PLUNGES INTO CIVIL WAR The man and his parry are enemies of Pakistan. This crime will not go unpunished. We will not allow some power-hungry and unpatriotic people to destroy this country and play with the destiny of 120 million people. -President Mohammed Yahya Khan Coyne out of your houses with whatever weapons you have. Resist the enemy forces at any cost until the last enemy soldier is vanquished, and save the country from the ruthless dictatorship of West Pakistanis. -Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Until the very last moment, it looked as if the two proud men entrusted with Pakistan's destiny might still be able to avert a head-on clash. Prom the East Pakistani capital of Dacca came optimistic reports that President Mohammed Yahya Khan and Mujib as the leader of secessionist-minded East Pakistan is known were about to reach a compromise. But then, with stunning suddenness, the pieces of Pakistan's complicated political puzzle flew apart. In the East Pakistan cities of Rangpur and Chittagong, federal troops poured machine-gun fire into mobs of demonstrating Bengali nationalists. Swiftly, Yahya issued orders to his army to "crush the movement and restore the full authority of the government". In his turn, Mujib proclaimed East Pakistan the "sovereign, independent People's Republic of Bangladesh (Bengali Nation)." And with that. Pakistan was plunged into civil war. Thus, in the 24th year of Pakistan's existence the bond that had held the eastern and western sectors of the country in tenuous union snapped. Because Pakistan's central government immediately imposed strict censorship on communications in and out of East Pakistan, early reports were sketchy. Still, even the fragmentary dispatches from neighboring India provided a dismal picture of bloody fighting that pitted a modem, professional army against rebels who were often armed with little more than passion and pitchforks. Hopelessly outgunned, the East Pakistani guerrillas reportedly suffered thousands of casualties. But although by the end of the week it appeared that the federal army-largely composed of fierce Punjabis-had dealt its Bengali adversary a devastating blow, few people thought that the widely separated wings of Pakistan could ever be effectively reunited again. What made the Pakistani upheaval so unexpected was that it occurred even as Yahya and Mujib were in the midst of private negotiations. On hearing the reports of "massacres" in Rangpur and Chittagong, an enraged Mujib accused the army of unleashing a reign of terror. Yahya's response was to quiet the talks in a huff and leave Dacca unannounced to return to West Pakistan. Back in his home region, the President took to national radio to ban Mujib's Awami League, East Pakistan's dominant political organization. Sheikh Mujib's action of Starling his non-cooperation movement is "an act of treason" the President declared.
