These explanations cannot be accepted by Pakistan. If these officials have defected, as claimed by India, they should no longer enjoy any diplomatic privileges and their stay on the Indian soil would be unauthorized. It would also be Government of Indian's responsibility to allow Pakistan accredited representative to ascertain whether the alleged defections were genuine or not.
The Government of Pakistan is therefore compelled to conclude that the Pakistani personnel of its Mission in Calcutta are being held against their wishes.
Not only Mr. Mehdi Masud has been prevented from meeting them but the East Pakistani staff of the Mission has also not been allowed to contact their colleagues from East Pakistan whose houses are under close surveillance.
The Government of Pakistan has taken serious view of the unprecedented situation in which the Indian authorities are holding Pakistani officials as hostages and are not allowing them to return to Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan has been approached by families of members of East Pakistani officials is Calcutta about the welfare and repatriation of these officials. Pakistan has not been able to provide any satisfactory information to the families concerned because it has not been possible to establish any contact with East Pakistani personnel in Calcutta.
It is most unfortunate that the Government of India has refused to treat the evacuation of personnel from Calcutta and Dacca as a human problem which should be settled on the basis of reciprocity and in accordance with international practice.
Indian authorities seem to be so determined to exploit this issue for political purposes that they are indifferent to the inconvenience and uncertainty faced by officials of the two countries in Dacca and Calcutta. Normally it was expected that to expedite the evacuation of Indian personnel in Dacca, India would promptly provide assured facilities to Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner and his staff in Calcutta.
It amply proves that India is not sincere in meeting its obligations for reciprocal evacuation of personnel from Calcutta and Dacca. This is further confirmed by the fact that India has been shifting its position with regard to the mode of transporting its personnel firm Dacca when arrangements for repatriation are finally completed. To begin with, India proposed the evacuation of their personnel by a Nepalese airliner. Later on, they suggested that evacuation should be effected by a Russian aircraft. Now they have again changed their position and proposed that the Indian personnel from Dacca may be transported by an Iranian plane.
It is not clear what really India’s plan is. All three successive proposals made by India were promptly accepted. The Government of Pakistan has informed India that as soon as list of personnel to be evacuated from Calcutta and Dacca are finalized, simultaneous action could take place without any delay. Pakistan has, however, still not been told by the Indian Government that it would arrange meetings between Mr. Mehdi Masud and the East Pakistani personnel in Calcutta to ascertain their wishes independently.
