396 বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ চতুর্দশ খন্ড শিরোনাম সূত্র তারিখ ऽदखायूकळवश्मन्नबार्शेनििलिं सुझेल्ली छलिक्षाक ৯ জুলাই, ১৯৭১ THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, JULY 9, 1971 WAR SPIRIT GROWS ON TRIGGER-HAPPY PAKISTAN BORDER By Clare Hollingworth in Bendpole, East Pakistan Pakistani and Indian soldiers now confront one another dangerously across from five to 50 yards of no-man's-land at every main road crossing along the 1,500-mile frontier between East Pakistan and India., The daily sporadic firing of small arms two-inch mortars, with the occasional round of artillery, has caused a marked escalation in tension on the borders during the past few weeks. The West Pakistan soldiers are obviously enjoying the near-war situation. They are digging themselves bunkers, defensive position and generally preparing to hold a far larger section of the border then they could defend for five minutes against a small but determined assault force. Frequent alerts-some real but others false—when everyone is forced into waterlogged dugouts, add flavor to this dangerous war game which an unexpected incident could so easily turn into the real thing. For fingers are increasingly trigger-happy and the hatred for "the enemy" is fed each day by the press and radio of both sides. At many points on the Pakistani side the Army has already fought, hard, to take over defended permanent frontier posts which were occupied by the East Pakistan Rifles when they defected to Bangladesh as the West Pakistan Army took over on March 25. This former frontier force then turned their guns and their permanently constructed positions round to fight their former comrades in arms. Tension kept up They are still operating on the Indian side of the frontier, where they can be seen through field glasses occupying forward positions. From time to time they open fire to keep their spirits up and maintain the tension, thus ensuring that the Pakistani Army cannot withdraw troops from the border. Members of the East Pakistan Rifles and the East Bengal Regt, too, are training the Bangladesh guerrillas in camps just inside India. Six weeks ago, just a few hundred yards further down this three-lane main truck road inside India I witnessed six or seven mortar bombs land from the Pakistan side and noted the Indian army had constructed will camouflaged bunkers and defensive positions. Bangladesh guerrillas cross the frontier every night to lay mines, leave time bombs in deserted villages which the army patrols, and throw hand grenades into outposts. The guerrillas are becoming an increasing menace to communication in the border areas, where almost all telephone wires and electric cables have now been cut,
