“Our reports indicate a very sharp deterioration of the military situation in the last four to five days.” Behind the diplomatic language used by a State Department spokesman in Washington last Thursday was the fear that skirmishing along the border of India and East Pakistan might erupt into all-out war. Secretary of State Rogers said the department has “urgently counseled both sides to follow maximum restraint.”

At least twice in recent days Indian troops were drawn into direct fighting with Pakistani troops as an outgrowth of the activities of the Mukti Bahini, the Bengali guerrilla army fighting for secession in East Pakistan. According to Indian sources, Pakistani soldiers wearing civilian dress had slipped across into India to mine roads and kill suspected guerrillas living in refugee camps.

Last week, also, a West Pakistani political leader, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, paid a surprise visit to Peking as a special envoy of President Yahya Khan. Mr. Bhutto spent three days in Peking and won public assurance of Chinese support “should Pakistan be subjected to foreign aggression.” This was viewed as a warning by Peking to India—which had just received a top‐level delegation from the Soviet Union—that Pakistan too had a powerful friend.