(Khaleel Y. Siddiqi, Toronto, Canada, E-mail: khaleel@rogers.com)

Instalment # 5

Event # 7, Peace retored in East Pakistan !

In 1971after the General Elections in the country, when general Yehya Khan delayed transfer of power to the majority party leader, Shaikh Mujeeb-ur-Rehman, riots started in East Pakistan. To control the situation, General Tikka Khan was sent from West Pakistan. In fact, this was an army action against the Bengali Muslims. After a few months of blood shedding and merciless killing of Bengali Muslims, army announced that peace was restored. To assess the real position in East Pakistan, a delegation of twelve persons, composed of six members of local Trade & Industry (including Mr. A.Hameed Khan of Ferozsons and Mr. Haneef Malik of Paper Corner, Ganpath Road, Lahore), two Politicians ( one was Rana Nazrur Rehman), and four from Media ( one from PTV and three Journalsits, myself from Daily Kohistan, Mr.Majeed Nizami of Nawa-I-waqt and Mr. Hameedullah of Daily Mashriq) left Lahore for Dacca. We were received at the Dacca airport by a representative of Marshal Law Administrator of Dacca and made us stay in the Shah Bag Hotel.

The very next day, we were invited by the M.L.A., General Farman Ali, to have tea in his office at 11.a.m. Capt. Usman, ADC of the MLA, came to the hotel and took us to the MLA’s office. I and Mr. Haneef Malik, had cameras which the ADC took away before entering the General’s room. They had arranged 6 chairs on each side of the MLA’s table and luckily I was the first to enter and got the first chair on the left side. As we sat, the bell on the ‘Intercom’ placed on the MLA’s table, rang. It was some army Major or Colonel who was seeking some advice from the CML after informing that some firing took place in a vicinity of Dacca. The Chief in his usual army style, asked the Officer to take action as per Standing Orders: “Arrest 20- 30 Bengali youngsters and put them behind the bar”. The Officer replied: “ Sir, there is no room left to house the arrested persons”. The General fired back in Urdu : “ Sir-hadh par kur-do dus bees ko pakr kay”.

( Catch 20 – 30 and throw them out of the Boundary, which obviously meant shoot them dead !) I got shocked and being a young man in my late Thirties, could not stand this order and spontaneously asked the General as to what he meant by “Throwing them out the Boundary and which Border he meant”. The General was not prepared for such an abrupt attack. He asked me to introduce myself & after knowing that I was Managing Editor of Daily Kohistan, (Lahore, Pindi & Multan), he just turned to his ADC, Capt. Usman & asked him to take me out and send me back to West Pakistan with the First Aavailable Flight. I turned to the members of the delegation and asked them to leave after once knowing as to how the peace was restored and being maintained. Except Mr.Haneef Malik no body else got up. Then two of us were taken to the hotel Shah Bag and from there to the Dacca airport. The First Available Flight was, unfortunately, for Karachi in which we were thrown-back to West Pakistan.