Shortly before the surrender of the Pakistani forces in Dacca, capital of emerging “Bangladesh,” the commander of Indian forces in the eastern region said the West Pakistani troops: “They are very gallant fighters with good discipline. But there is no hope for them. The people are against them.”

That is the hard reality in East Bengal that no amount of military courage and determination on the part West Pakistan could change. It is a reality with which peacemakers must now deal; a reality which must finally be faced in Islamabad—and in Washington.

In their own stubborn and expanding resistance over the last eight months and in the wildly enthusiastic welcome they have given to their Indian “liberators,” the people of East Bengal have made ‘unmistakably clear their determination no longer to be dominated by their Moslem brothers from the West.

The division of Pakistan has only been accelerated by India's unseemly military intervention. The separation of East Pakistan from the West, rooted in geography, history and culture, had already been made irrevocable by the brutal military crackdown which Islamabad initiated last March 25, dissolving the bonds of Islamic brotherhood in blood.

Having forced the issue, India has a heavy responsibility now to move swiftly toward a magnanimous peace. New Delhi's unilateral declaration of a cease‐fire on the western front and the pledges of Indian and Bengali leaders of protection for the defeated foe are welcome initiatives in this direction. It is particularly important for India and for the future of the entire region that these pledges be strictly honored to avert any further bloodbaths and that Indian troops be withdrawn from East Bengal as quickly as possible.

President Yahya Khan's stubborn call for continuing war is a self‐defeating prescription for more bloodshed, destruction and division throughout the subcontinent. It is time for new leaders to come forward in Islamabad who will end the fighting and open a dialogue with India and with the elected leaders of East Bengal, including the imprisoned Sheik Mujibur Rahman.

Zulfikar All Bhutto, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan and the leading civilian politician in West Pakistan, yesterday indicated his intention follow just such a course. “I think the secessionist leaders will find it in their interest not to close the door on Pakistan,” he said this week. “They will want to talk with both India and Pakistan.” It is in the best interest of all three Parties to begin talking with each other order to open doors that have been too long closed by communal animosities and war, and to form new ties that are essential for a peaceful and prosperous subcontinent.