December 27, 1970

PAKISTAN: Foreign countries had offered Pakistan US$57 million in
cash, services and goods as relief for last month's disastrous cyclone
and tidal wave in East Pakistan, officials disclosed. Cash pledges
totalled $7 million, of which $2.5 million were from private
charitable organizations.

December 29, 1970

PAKISTAN: UN Secretary General U Thant at the United Nations made a
plea for renewed assistance to the cyclone victims in East Pakistan
and said that three million people in the area would need food
supplies for another year. According to a Pakistan Government report,
the area would need 500,000 tons of food grains, specially rice
compared to the 130,000 already pledged.

January 2, 1971

PAKISTAN: Former Foreign minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto warned he would
back public demonstrations unless the governmnet checked soaring food
prices. He said deliberate price rises foreshadowed an economic crisis
which could turn the drafting of a national constitution an exercise
in futility.

February 6, 1971

PAKISTAN: Pakistan rejected India's demand that two men who hi- jacked
an Indian airliner to Lahore on January 30 be handed over to stand
trial, officials in Islamabad said. They said the two men were from
the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir and were not Indian nationals.
Earlier, India banned Pakistan planes from flying over Indian
territory between East and West Pakistan until the Pakistan government
had compensated India for the loss of the plane, its baggage and mail.

February 13, 1971

PAKISTAN: Pakistan demanded compensation for the extra distance its
airliners had to fly following the ban on flights over India, Radio
Pakistan reported. India banned all flights by Pakistani civilian and
military aircraft after an Indian airliner was hijacked to Lahore last
month.

February 16, 1971

PAKISTAN: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, leader of the People's Party, said he
would lead his 83 national assemblymen in a boycott of the opening of
the assembly in Dacca on March 3. The threat followed Bhutto's failure
to solve differences between himself and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, leader
of East Pakistan's Awami League.

February 17, 1971

PAKISTAN: Pakistan's ambassador to the UN, Agha Shahi, told the
security council that India's decision to suspend overflights by
Pakistani civil aircraft was "an act of belligerence". He charged that
India appeared to be deliberately embarked "on a course leading to a
situation of confrontation".

February 21, 1971

PAKISTAN: India and Pakistan had been building up forces along the
West Pakistan border following the destruction of an Indian plane at
Lahore on February 2, according to informed military sources in
Rawalpindi. Earlier, former foreign minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had
stated that troops on both sides of the border were in an "eyeball-
to-eyeball position"

February 22, 1971

PAKISTAN: President Yahya Khan dismissed his 10-man civilian cabinet
"in view of the country's political situation". He called a meeting
in Rawalpindi of the governors and martial law administrators of West
Pakistan's four provinces -- Sind, Punjab, Northwest Frontier and
Baluchistan -- apparently to take stock of the political situation and
take measures to counter the potential threat posed to West Pakistan
by the massing of Indian troops on the border.

March 1, 1971

PAKISTAN: President Yahya Khan ordered the postponement of Pakistan's
national assembly meeting scheduled for March 3 in Dacca because of
the disagreement between the major parties of East and West
Pakistan. He ordered the postponement after Zulfikar Ali Bhutto,
leader of the Pakistan People's Party, vowed to support his threatened
boycott of the session with a complete strike in the West.

March 2, 1971

PAKISTAN: Martial law authorities clamped a curfew in Dacca following
arson, looting and other lawlessness during a general strike called by
the Awami leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, according to a Radio Pakistan
report.

March 3, 1971

PAKISTAN: President Yahya Khan sent urgent personal invitations to
leaders of 12 parliamentary groups in the National assembly to meet on
March 10 in Dacca in an attempt to resolve the country's
constitutional crisis. In Dacca, the Awami League leader, Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman, rejected the invitation, saying: "With harsh language
of weapons still ringing in our ears the invitation to the conference
is in fact being made at gunpoint."

March 6, 1971

PAKISTAN: Yahya Khan set a new date -- March 25 -- for the first
session of the National assembly and warned that he would not allow
the country to be divided. In a nationwide speech, he declared: "No
matter what happens, as long as I am in command of Pakistan's armed
forces and head of state, I will ensure the complete and absolute
integrity of Pakistan."

March 7, 1971

PAKISTAN: Mujibur said Yahya Khan must lift martial law in the country
before he would agree to attend the inaugural session of the national
assembly on March 25, Radio Pakistan reported. Mujibur also demanded
that army troops be ordered back to the barracks; an inquiry should be
made into the recent killings in East Pakistan; power should be
transferred to the elected representatives of the country.

March 13, 1971

PAKISTAN: Martial law administrators in East Pakistan issued an
ultimatum to civil servants to return to their posts by March 15 or be
dismissed and tried as deserters. Employees of government and
semi-government offices have been on a non-violent disobedience
campaign on orders of the Awami League chief, Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman(Mujib).

March 15, 1971

PAKISTAN: Mujib backed up his decision to take over the administration
of East Pakistan with 35 directives covering most activities of civil
life. Earlier, he said in an official announcement he was assuming
control over the affairs of the 70 million population on the basis of
his party's absolute majority in the provincial assembly and its
dominant position in the national assembly. President Yahya Khan
arrived in Dacca from Karachi for talks with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,
aimed at ending the political crisis.

March 18, 1971

PAKISTAN: East Pakistan leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman rejected an offer
by President Yahya Khan to set up a commission of inquiry into charges
of unprovoked killing of civilians by the army during the previous
week's start of a civil disobedience campaign. Mujib said the
restricted terms of reference would prevent the proposed five-man
commission from inquiring into "actual atrocities" and the inquiry
"would be mere advice to mislead the people".

March 21, 1971

PAKISTAN: West Pakistan leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto left Karachi for
Dacca to join constitutional talks in progress between Yahya and
Mujib.

March 22, 1971

PAKISTAN: Yahya postponed indefinitely the scheduled March 25 opening
of the constituent assembly.

March 25, 1971

PAKISTAN: President Yahya Khan had agreed to foru major concessions
demanded by East Pakistan leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Dacca Radio
reported. Teh concessions were the lifting of martial law in East
Pakistan, the return of troops to their barracks, transfer of power to
the elected representatives and an enquiry into the alleged killings
by the army after Yahya postponed the first session of the National
assembly.

March 26, 1971

PAKISTAN: Civil war broke out in East Pakistan with large scale
fighting between West and East Pakistan armed forces. President Yahya
outlawed the Awami League of Sheikh Mujib who proclaimed independence
for the province, as the People's Republic of Bangla Desh.

March 27, 1971

PAKISTAN: Pakistan air force planes bombed the secessionist-held East
Pakistan town of Comilla, 60 miles southeast of Dacca. At least 10,000
civilians were reported killed in two days of fighting in the
province.

March 28, 1971

PAKISTAN: According to a clandestine radio broadcast, Sheikh Mujib's
supporters formed a provisional government in East Pakistan and
appealed to other countries to extend immediate recognition.

April 1, 1971

PAKISTAN: East Pakistan leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had been flown
under arrest to Lahore, West Pakistan, to be tried for treason,
according to a London Daily Telegraph report. The paper said there was
speculation that Mujib might have been summarily executed already. But
it said that if he was imprisoned and was to be tried it was expected
the charges would be of conspiring with Indian and foreign sources to
finance a breakaway movement. Armed Indians had infiltrated the order
areas of East Pakistan, a foreign office spokesman charged. The
spokesman also said Pakistan had taken a serious view of the
resolution passed by the Indian parliament, calling for an immediate
end to the use of force in East Pakistan. "This constitutes blatant
interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan," he said.

April 6, 1971

PAKISTAN: President Yahya Khan had appealed to the Soviet Union to
stop India from meddling in his country's internal affairs, the
government reported. Yahya told the Soviet leaders the situation in
East Pakistan was well under control, but expressed serious concern
over nearly six divisions of Indian troops he claimed were deployed
near the border.

April 9, 1971

PAKISTAN: Lieutenant General Tikka Khan, the martial law administrator
for east Pakistan, was sworn in as the governor of the province, Radio
Pakistan announced. The clandestine radio of the rebel leader, Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman, had earlier claimed that freedom fighters killed Tikka
Khan on March 26 during a skirmish in Dacca. In Washington four US
senators sent a letter to Secretary of State William Rogers asking him
for details on "the extent, magnitude and timing" of all US aid to
Pakistan.
The U.S. State Department said in Washington that decisions on future
aid to Pakistan were under review in the light of developments there
during the past few months. The US had earlier committed US$100
million in the fiscal year ending June 30 for economic assistance to
Pakistan.

April 12, 1971

PAKISTAN: Chinese Premier Chou En-lai had assured Yahya Khan that the
Chinese government and people would support Pakistan against any
attack by India, Radio Pakistan reported.

April 15, 1971

PAKISTAN: Two emissaries of the newly-proclaimed "government of Bangla
Desh" flew to Europe to seek international recognition, according to a
Press Trust of India report published in New Dehli. Earlier, it was
announced that a six man Bangla Desh government was to be sworn in
later in the day -- the first day of the Bengali New Year.

April 23, 1971

PAKISTAN: Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bashani, leader of East Pakistan's
National Awami Party, sent cables to President Nixon, Chairman Mao
Tse-tung and Premier Chou En-lai urgeng them to accord immediate
recognition to the "republican government of Bangla Desh" and to cease
supplying arms to West Pakistan

April 27, 1971

PAKISTAN: The army in East Pakistan had captured two Indian soldiers
and wiped out 300 infiltrators, Radio Pakistan claimed. The radio said
"huge quantities" of arms and ammunition were also seized.

April 30, 1971

PAKISTAN: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, leader of the PPP (Pakistan People's
Party), had hinted war between India and Pakistan was a possibility
but not imminent, Radio Pakistan reported

May 6, 1971

PAKISTAN: In Washington, the US senate foreign relations committee
called unanimously for an immediate suspension of American military
aid and arms sales to Pakistan until its current civil conflict was
resolved and the distribution of relief supplies was resumed. A
similar resolution was soon to be introduced in teh House of
Representatives.

May 11, 1971

PAKISTAN: Pakistan had accepted a Swiss offer to mediate in the
dispute over repatriation of diplomatic missions in Calcutta and
Dacca, official sources said, adding that Pakistan was awaiting Indian
reaction to the offer

May 15, 1971

INDIA: Premier Mrs Indira Gandhi toured refugee camps along the border
of East Pakistan. A government spokesman said that about US$ 200,000
per day was being spent to feed the refugees -- 2.6 million of them,
according to the official count -- in addition to the cost of medical
care and maintaining 328 camps.

May 19, 1971

INDIA: In Washington, the state department announced the allocation of
an extra US$ 500,000 for emergency relief to Pakistani refugees in
India. The funds -- provided in response to an appeal for
international assistance by UN Secretary General U Thant-- would
supplement an earlier US authorisation of up to $2.5 million worth of
food relief, the department said, adding that provision of relief
supplies to refugees in East Pakistan was still being discussed with
the Pakistan government.

May 21, 1971

PAKISTAN: President Yahya Khan asked "bona fide Pakistan citizens who
left their homes due to disturbed conditions and for other reasons to
return to East Pakistan where law and order has been restored and life
is returning to normal". He complained however that "the government of
India has been circulating highly exaggerated and distorted accounts
of events which led to these border crossings. It is most regrettable
that instead of treating the question of genuine refugees on a
humanitarian basis a callous campaign has been launched by India to
exploit this issue for political purposes".

May 25, 1971

PAKISTAN: President Yahya Khan said in Karachi his government would
announce plans for transferring power to people's representatives "as
soon as complete normalcy returns to East Pakistan". In Calcutta,
India, the first issue of a weekly newspaper, Jai Bangla (Victory to
Bengal), distributed by rebel Bengali diplomats who had earlier siezed
Pakistan's local consular mission, said that "the people of Bangla
Desh are not connected with any talks of transfer of power by Yahya
Khan or any constitution making in Pakistan." The newspaper declared:
"We are engaged in a do-or-die atruggle; either we live as an
independent nation or we die.

May 31, 1971

PAKISTAN: Following Yahya's recent appeal to the refugees who had fled
East Pakistan to India, the government was reported setting up special
camps near the border between India and East Pakistan to receive
returnees. So far, of the 450 members of national and provincial
assemblies belonging to the Awami League, only 50 had reported to the
authorities.

June 6, 1971

INDIA: Security forces were sealing a stretch of border between India
and East Pakistan to prevent cholera-carrying Pakistani refugees
entering the coutnry, the government announced. It explained that
virulent Asiatic cholera was ravaging the area of East Pakistan
directly across the border from Nadia, about 60 miles north of
Calcutta, and many of the tens and thousands of East Bengalis crossing
daily had the disease.

June 6, 1971

INDIA: Malnutrition as well as cholera were taking a heavy toll of
lives among 4.7 milion East Pakistani refugees in Eastern India,
Health Minister Uma Shanker Dixit said. He stated that 1250 people
had died of cholera as of jUne 4th and there were 9,500 confirmed
cases of the disease.

June 10, 1971

PAKISTAN: East Pakistan Governor Tikka Khan issued a general amnesty
to any East Pakistani who fled to India following the March rebellion
and who wished to return. He said investigation showed most
Pakistanis were "anxious" to return home.

June 14, 1971

PAKISTAN: Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, UN high commissioner for
refugees, arrived in Calcutta to visit some of the refugee camps in
West Bengal. Earlier, the prince had visited West and East Pakistan
and New Delhi. An airlift of East Pakistani refugees from the border
areas began with a Soviet transport aircraft--one of two chartered
from Aeroflot--carrying 100 men, women and children to the central
Indian refugee settlement at Mana. Later, four US air force C-103's
wsere to start moving refugees from the border territories of Tripura
to Assam.

June 18, 1971

PAKISTAN: President Yahya Khan issued a new appeal--his third-- to all
East Pakistani refugees in India to return home. Directing his appeal
especially at Hindus -- the minority community in East Pakistan --
Yahya said returning refugees would be given "full protection and
every faciltiy" as they were "equal citizens of Pakistan".

June 19, 1971

PAKISTAN: The government had lifted restrictions on foreign
correspondents wishing to visti East Pakistan, Radio Pakistan
reported. The announcement said foreign correspondents "may now visit
East Pakistan on their own" as the law and order situation in the
province had returned to normal.

June 28, 1971

PAKISTAN: President Yahya Khan Announced in a nation-wide broadcast
that he had appointed a special committee to draw up a constitution in
place of the previously elected national assembly. The new document
Yahya said, would have to be based on Islamic ideology and provide for
a federal structure. The provinces would have some autonomy but the
central government would also have strong powers, he asserted.

July 1, 1971

INDIA: India's Armed forces were being strengthened to deal with
"threats posed by both Pakistan and China", according to the defence
ministry's annual report to parliament. The report said the army was
obtaining new weapons systems and becoming "a more mobile and
effective striking force", the navy was improving its capacity to
engage in submarine warfare, and the air force was being equipped with
new ground attack aircrafta nd intercepters. The report stressed India
was making its military preparations only for defensive purposes. The
number of East Pakistani refugees in West Bengal stood at 5,027,755,
according to state refugee officials. Of these, 3,331771 were
registered in camps while the others had been registered as living
with friends and relations in the state.

July 3, 1971

PAKISTAN: Pakistan had asked the US to sell it seven B-57
bomber-reconnaisance jets, US state department officials revealed in
Washington.

July 12, 1971

INDIA: India had decided to move about 2.5 million East Pakistani
refugees to central camps to relieve the pressure on its border
states, Rehabilitation minister R.K. Khadilkar declared in
Calcutta. He said about 6,763000 refugees had crossed over into India
since trouble broke out in East Pakistan on March 25. Of these,
3,163,000 were women and 1,135,000 were under 18. The government had
no intention of making them Indian Citizens, Khadilkar asserted. "The
are foreign nationals and are being shifted only to ease pressure on
the border states," he said.

July 15, 1971

INDIA: Despite the influx of almost seven million refugees from East
Pakistan, the food position in India continued to be satisfactory, an
official report submitted to parliament said. It said 1969-70 food
grain production had set a new record of 99.5 million tons, surpassing
the previous year's record by 4.6%.

PAKISTAN: East Pakistan would be faced with starvation by August 1
unless additional food grain was imported, a special US relief
fact-finding team reported in Washington. State department officials,
who earlier announced that an additional 100,000 tons of food grain
would be shipped promptly to East Pakistan, said the US would be
helping to provide more river craft to ease the East Pakistan food
distribution problem.

July 16, 1971

PAKISTAN: UN officials said in New York they had told Secretary
General U Thant that US$28 million would eb required to meet East
Pakistan's initial relief needs. The officials said shipments of food
grains scheduled to reach East Pakistan from June to August totalled
about 450,000 tons. Further surveys on the food gap were being carried
out by FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization),and world food
programme teams were currently in East Pakistan to meet shipments
scheduled for September, October and later, they added.

July 17, 1971

INDIA: The influx of refugees from East Pakistan was likely to reach
10 million as against earlier predictions of a final figure of eight
million, Rehabilitation Minister R. K. Khadilkar said. He said far
more than the original estimate of US$400 million would be needed for
caring for the refugees.

July 21, 1971

INDIA: Foreign Minister Swaran Singh said the planned move -- earlier
announced by Pakistan President Yahya Khan -- to bring the Awami
League party leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to trial soon for high
treason was "a farce and a mad action" which would only exacerbate the
already tense situation in East Pakistan. He said the sheikh alone
could restore normality and confidence in East Pakistan and generate a
climate in which the 7.22 million refugees in India could return to
their homes.

PAKISTAN: Bengali insurgents had assasinated at least 600 officials
and workers of the army-backed peace committees throughout East
Pakistan since mid-April, the central peace committee claimed. A
spokesman said the central peace committee was hoping to arm120,000
volunteers under the direction of the military regime: each man would
have a rifle and 15 rounds of ammunition.

July 23, 1971

INDIA: Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram confirmed reports of the presence
of Chinese army personnel in East Pakistan. He said several Chinese
troops had arrived in East Pakistan to train Pakistani army men in
tactical warfare. Ram also said that the "activities of the freedom
fighters of Bangla Desh have so much rattled Yahya Khan that he is
unnerved and issuing threats".

July 29, 1971

INDIA: Indian security forces had been strengthened along the East
Pakistan border and the army was standing by to meet any aggression,
Home Affairs Minister K.C. Pant declared. Pant said the Pakistan army
had intruded into Indian territory 29 times and fired across the
frontier on 241 occasions killing 55 and wounding 135 civilians since
May 21.

July 31, 1971

PAKISTAN: President Yahya Khan accused India of continued shelling of
East Pakistan and warned a total war was "very near" in the
subcontinent. "I am watching the situation. If the Indians have the
idea of taking a chunk out of East Pakistan, it would mean war," he
said.

August 1 1971

PAKISTAN: The Pakistan governemtn agreeed to the stationing , under UN
auspices, of a group of 153 civilian relief and rehabilitation experts
in East Pakistan. The US would contribute US$1million immediately to
help equip and organise the group.

August 4, 1971

PAKISTAN: The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation said in Rome that
millions of people in East Pakistan faced famine unless half a million
tons of food were sent there in the next few months. It said it was
contributing 37,000 tons of food valued at US$4.3 million from its
funds -- one-third for emergency food aid and the rest from
food-for-work projects under FAO's world food programme organisation.

August 5, 1971

INDIA: The government asked parliament for an additional grant of Rs
2,000 million (about US$267 million) to care for the East Pakistani
refugees in India. India would soon recognise Bangla Desh (an
independent East Bengal), the Times of Indai reported. It said India
had sent its former ambassador, D. P. Dhar to Moscow to explain to the
Soviet leaders India's latest thinking on the subject.

PAKISTAN: In Washington, President Nixon announced he would send
Secretary of State William Rogers ot the UN next week to try to step
up relief operations for Pakistani refugees in India and discuss the
stationing of international observers in East Pakistan.

August 6, 1971

INDIA: A memorandum signed by 467 members of parliament, was sent to
UN Secretary General U Thant, urging him to help stop the forthcoming
trial for treason of East Pakistani Political leader Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman. The memorandum said that "waves of terrible reaction will
sweep Bangla Desh" if the trial went ahead.

August 7, 1971

PAKISTAN: Eighty-eight of the 167 Awami League Deputies would be free
to take their seats when the Pakistani National Assembly convened,
President Yahya Khan announced. The seats belonging to the other 79
members -- disqualified for "secessionist activities or complicity in
atrocities" in East Pakistan -- would have to be filled in by
elections, Yahya said.

August 9, 1971

INDIA: In New Delhi about a million people attended a rally organized
by the ruling Congress Party to pledge support for Bangla Desh.

PAKISTAN: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman would go on a trial on August 11
before a special military court for "waging war against Pakistan, and
other offences", it was officially announced.

August 11, 1971

INDIA: US Senator Edward Kennedy, in India on a Fact-Finding tour as
chairman of the senate subcommittee dealing with refugee affairs,
expressed regret that the Pakistan government had cancelled his
planned visit -- due to have started on August 12 -- to East and West
Pakistan. Kennedy said: "Although I recognise the sovereign right of
any nation to control entry into its territory, I regret that such
restrictions should be invoked against those who seek to encourage and
support humanitarian programmes that can meet the human needs of a
troubled area. India and Pakistan reached agreeement on the
repatriation of the personnel at their respective diplomatic missions
in Dacca and Calcutta. According to an official announcement, more
than 200 Indians at the deputy high commission in Dacca were to be
flown back to New Dehli on August 12, and the 30 West Pakistanis
assigned to the Pakistan high commission in Calcutta were to be
simultaneously flown back to Karachi.

August 12, 1971

INDIA: A spokesman for the Awami League in New Delhi threatened
reprisals if the party's leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, under trial
for treason in West Pakistan, was sentenced to death. He said the
liberation army, under the instruction of the provisional government
of Bangla Desh would execute a large number of West Pakistani hostages
at the moment "one hair of the sheikh's head is harmed".

August 16, 1971

INDIA: In Washington former US ambassador to India Chester Bowles
warned o fthe danger of another war between India and Pakistan and
charged that "a series of miscalculations" by the US had contributed
"significantly to this explosive situation".. Said Bowles, a former
under-secretary of state: "The United States, by refusing to halt arms
shipments to Pakistan, has seen its stock drop to an all-time low in
India. US explanations that the arms will provide 'leverage' with the
Pakistanis are patently and demonnstrably ridiculous." He added:
"Sitting in the wings is the United Nations, which has thus far been
ineffective."

PAKISTAN: China's ambassador to Pakistan Chang Tung left Islamabad for
Peking to brief his foreign ministry on the latest situation in East
Pakistan, on reactions in Islamabad to the Indo-Soviet treaty signed
on August 9, and onPakistan's attitude toward Western countries "who
seem to be supporting India" on the East Pakistan crisis.

August 18, 1971

PAKISTAN: President Yahya Khanissued an ordinance establishing a
compensation fund to be administered by insurance companies and
initally fed by loans from the State Bank -- for private property
damaged in East Pakistan. An official announcement said the government
considered the fund necessary for revival of trade and industry bogged
down by "exceptional losses" uncovered by ordinary insurance policies.
The martial law administration in Dacca ordered 16 members of the
national assembly, belonging to the Awami League, to appear before
local law administratiors in their areas on August 22 on criminal
charges connected with the civil uprising in East Pakistan in March.

August 20, 1971

PAKISTAN: The government had named a leading constitutional lawyer,
A. K. Brohi, to defend Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, currently on trial for
treason, Radio Pakistan announced.

August 23, 1971

PAKISTAN: F9ourteen disqualified members of the national assembly, who
failed to appear before a military tribunal were ordered to be tried
in absentia.

August 25, 1971

PAKISTAN: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, chairman of the Pakistan People's
Party, called on President Yahya Khan in Islamabad to discuss the
transfer of politiccal power from the military to the country's
politicians. Bhutto indicated later that the major obstacles blocking
a transfer of power were India's attitude toward the conflict in East
Pakistan, and the clash between Pakistan's two opposing political
parties -- the Muslim League in West Pakistan and the now outlawed
Awami League in East Pakistan.

August 27, 1971

PAKISTAN: Answering US Senator Edward Kennedy's call for an end to all
American assistance to Pakistan, the state department in Washington
said US arms shipments to the Pakistani government had already been
restricted to licences issued before the March 25 East Pakistani
uprising, and no more than US$2.6 million worth remained to be
delivered. It added that hte US had not supplied any new economic aid
since the outbreak of the fighting, but along with other countries
aiding Pakistan was continuing to honor past commitments.

August 28, 1971

PAKISTAN: Commenting on a report that the former labour minister
A. M. Malik would replace General Tikka Khan as governor of East
Pakistan, Bhutto said he did not oppose the move but described the
possibility as a "half measure". He added: "In principle we are not
interested in half measures. They cannot resolve total crises."

August 30, 1971

INDIA: The self-proclaimed Bangla Desh government of East Pakistan
opened a mission in New Delhi with the approval of the Indian
government. Earlier, similar missions had been opened in calcutta,
London and Washington.

September 1, 1971

PAKISTAN: A total of only 2,002,623 people had left their homes during
the "unsettled conditions" prevailing in the past five months, the
government announced. Pakistan had long contended that India wildly
exaggerated it's estimates, put at seven or eight million, of the
numbers of East Pakistani refugees who had crossed into India.

September 5, 1971

PAKISTAN: President Yahya Khan proclaimed a general amnesty to "all
those who have committed or are alleged to have committed offences
during the disturbances in East Pakistan beginning on March 1 1971 and
ending on September 5, 1971". The amnesty was also to extend to
"personnel belonging to the armed forces, the East Pakistan Rifles,
police, Muhahids and Ansars". It did not include Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman, or members of the Awami League who have not been cleared by
the West Pakistani authorities.

September 8, 1971

INDIA: Former defence minister V. K. Krishna Menon said in New York
that Bangla Desh was a world problem, not just an Indo-Pakistan
issue. "We are not in this fight," he declared, "but we support the
people of Bangla Desh as we support the struggles of Africa."

September 9, 1971

PAKISTAN: The "Bangla Desh government" in Calcutta announced the
formation of a multi-party "National Liberation Front to wage the
struggle for independence on a wider scale". The nine-member front
included five members of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Awami League, and one
member each from the pro-Moscow Communist Party of Pakistan, the two
factions of the National Awami Party and the Pakistan Congress
Party. The rival faction of the pro-Peking Communist Party was
excluded from the front.

September 10, 1971

INDIA: India was likely to recognize the Bangla Desh government "very
soon", External Affairs Secretary T. N. Kaul declared. He claimed the
stage would soon be reached when the US and china would take the same
view as India on the Bangla Desh crisis.

PAKISTAN: The government of Bangla Desh planned to send a delegation
of seven or eight to plead its cause before the forthcoming session of
the UN general assembly, the Bangla Desh foreign secretary, Mahbub Ul
Alam, announced in New Dehli.

September 15, 1971

PAKISTAN: President Yahya Khan's economic adviser Mian Muzaffar Ahmed,
was stabbed in his office in Rawalpindi. Police later identified the
alleged assailant as an air-conditioning supervisor recently dismissed
from government serice.

PHILIPPINES: The government warned former Pakistani ambassador Khurram
Khan Panni -- who the previous day announced his resignation from the
Pakistani diplomatic service and his defection to the Bangla Desh
forces -- he would be depoorted if he engaged in "political activities
which will impair friendly relations between the Philipines and the
Pakistani government".

September 17, 1971

PAKISTAN: East Pakistan's governor, Abdul Motaleb Malik announced his
10 member council of ministers comprising both elected and nominated
members from different political parties, included the outlawed Awami
League. The members from the Awami League were in the cabinet in their
individual capacity, Malik said.

September 18, 1971

INDIA: An international conference on "Banla Desh", sponsored by the
Gandhi Peace Foundation, opened in New Dehli. More than 100 delegates
from about 20 countries, acting in their private capacity, approved a
motion calling for the immediate and unconditional release from prison
in West Pakistan of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the East Pakistan Awami
League leader.

PAKISTAN: Yahya announced his experts were preparing a new
constitution for Pakistan which could be amended by a simple majority
after a national assembly convened.

September 22, 1971

INDIA Eight representatives of the Bangla Desh government in Calcutta
- includng former Pakistani ambassadors to the Philipines and Iraq,
who had earler defected to the rebel side -- left for New York on a
mission to inform the UN General Assembly about conditions in East
Pakistan.

October 10, 1971

PAKISTAN: President Yahya Khan issued a regulation lifting the
six-month-old ban on political activity in Pakistan, the regulation
stipulated that no political party shall propagate any opinionor act
in a manner prejudicial to the ideology, integrity and security of the
country.

October 12, 1971

PAKISTAN: Yahya announced a new constitution would be published on
December 20, with the national assembly to meet a week later. He also
warned there was a strong possibility of aggression by India against
Pakistan.

October 14, 1971

INDIA: Premier Mrs. Indira Gandhi said the problem of India's security
overshadowed all other serious social and political problems facing
the country. Speaking of threats of war from Pakistan, she said: " I
do not know what is going to happen. But what I do know is that we
have to prepare for any eventuality."

PAKISTAN: Pakistan denied a news report from New Dehli saying that
Pakistani diplomatic missions abroad had been advised that Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman has been found guilty of treason.
In Washington, the US Senate foreign relations committee voted to ban
all forms of foreign aid to Pakistan until President Richard Nixon
informed Congress that the situation in East Pakistan was reasonably
stable and refugees were allowed to return. The Nixon administration
had requested US$225 million in aid for Pakistan. The committee also
voted a 20% cut in US military assistance to South Korea, Cambodia and
Taiwan.

October 18, 1971

INDIA: India would not withdraw from any Pakistan territory it
occupied if war broke out between the two countries, Defence Minister
Jagjivan Ram said. He also declared that Indian forces would not pull
back until the East Pakistan crisis was solved. "India will not submit
to world pressure in this regard," he said.

October 20, 1971

INDIA: A joint communique at the end of Yugaslav President Tito's four
day visti to New Dehli warned that the East Pakistan crisis was likely
to deteriorate if a solution was not found soon. It said he and Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi had agreed on the need for a political solution
acceptable to the elected leaders of East Pakistan, which they stress
would bring about normalisation of the situation and enable the
refugees in India to return home.

October 23, 1971

INDIA: India had mobilised its 600,000 military reserves to bolster
its forces along the borders with Pakistan, a defence ministry
spokesman announced. The reserves were last activated in the 1965 war
with Pakistan.

October 29, 1971

INDIA: Premier Indira Gandhi in London denied her country was giving
help to the guerillas in East Bengal. But she said India was concerned
with the problem because of the enormous burden of refugees which it
had to bear as a result of the Bangla Desh events.

November 4, 1971

INDIA: Premier Indira Gandhi in Washington asked President Richard
Nixon to halt US arms supplies to Pakistan and to bring pressure on it
to find a political solution to the country's crisis which would
involve concessions to East Pakistani separatists.

PAKISTAN: Pakistan had sent freighters to China and Rumania to pick up
arms and ammunition, according to defence sources in Washington.

November 5, 1971

CHINA: An eight-man delegation of Pakistan government and military
chiefs headed by former foreign minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto arrived
in Peking "at the invitation of the Chinese government for
consultation on matters of mutual interest."

PAKISTAN: Forty-two Pakistani political leaders, trade unionists,
lawyers, journalists, writers, student leaders, social workers and
university professors appealed to President Yahya Khan for the
immediate release of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the East Pakistani
leader. Mujib's release would be "in keeping with the elementary
canons of justice," they said in a joint statement issued in Lahore.

November 7, 1971

CHINA: China appealed to India and Pakistan to hold consultations to
reduce the tension on their frontiers and , at the same time, accused
the Indian government of having "crudely interfered" in Pakistan's
internal affairs. A statement by the Acting Foreign Minister, Chi
Peng-fei, said: "Should Pakistan be subjected to foreign aggression,
the chinese government and people will, as always, resolutely support
the Pakistan government and people in their struggle to defend their
state sovereignty and national independence.

November 8, 1971

PAKISTAN: The US had decided to cancel licences to export arms to
Pakistan, the New York Times reported. The newspaper said State
Department officials claimed the action was taken with the consent and
knoledge of the Pakistani government.

November 10, 1971

TAIWAN: Taipei would hold a Sino-Inida friendship week starting
November 16, the Central China News Agency reported. During the period
Taiwanese and Indian participants will give lectures and collect
donations to aid East Bengali refugees in India.

November 11, 1971

INDIA: More than 5,000 tons of Soviet military equipment, including
aircraft, should arrive in India by sea before the end of November,
according to US intelligence sources in Washinton. Earlier the sources
had reported a Pakistani ship to be bound for China to take on a cargo
of artillery, ammunition and other military material.

PAKISTAN: Jail terms of 14 years rigorous imprisonment had been passed
on each of the 55 Pakistani civil servants who had fled the country, a
military source announced in Dacca. All the accused were tried in
absentia.

November 12, 1971

INDIA: In Washington, US Secretary of State William Rogers said the
United States was "apprehensive" of the possibility of war breaking
out "in the next few days" between India and
Pakistan. "Diplomatically," he said, "we are doing everything we can
to prevent war from breaking out. If war does break out, we intend to
stay out. We are not going to get involved in another war."

November 15, 1971

SOVIET UNION: The government newspaper, Izvestia, appealed to Pakistan
to seek the restoration of good-neighbourly relations with India "in
the interest of international security." It charged that an anti
Indian campaign was being fanned in Pakistan just when a favourable
political atmosphere was needed to achieve a peaceful solution of the
East Pakistani refugee problem.

November 18, 1971

PAKISTAN: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Chairman of the Pakistan People's
Party, warned President Yahya Khan's regime against trying to impose a
puppet government on the country. He said his party would see to it
that any such government was "toppled through a revolution."

November 19, 1971

UNITED NATIONS: China took its seat in the General Assembly's social
committee and declared it was against colonialism and racial
discrimination.
China's representative on the social committee, Fu Hao, laid all of
the blame on India for the current tensions on the subcontinent. He
said : "The so-called question of refugees from East Pakistan came
into being and developed to the present state due to a certain
country's intervention in Pakistan's internal affairs, which has
resulted in the present tension on the subcontinent." Fu did not refer
to India by name.

November 20, 1971

PAKISTAN: President Yahya Kahan invited India "to grasp Pakistan's
hand in friendship and begin a new era of good neighbourly relations."

November 21, 1971

INDIA: Officials at the USAID(US Agency for International Development)
in Washington were considering a programme which would offer East
Pakistani refugees in India material inducements to return voluntarily
to East Pakistan. The deputy USAID administrator, Maurice Williams,
said offers of housing and other material benefits might start an
initial million refugees moving back into East Pakistan, with others
following later. He said the programme might absorb between US$70
million and US$100 million of the $250 million Congress had
tentatively earmarked for hhumanitarian programmes in India and
Pakistan.

INDIA: Premier Indira Gandhi said if Yahya Khan was sincere in his
peace offer he should first release Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, hte Bengali
leader of East Pakistan and stop the "farce" of holding re-elections
to the National Assembly.

November 22, 1971

INDIA: India denied Pakistan reports on incursions in the Jessore
sector as "absolutely false." A Defencce Ministry spokesman said the
"Indian troops have strict orders not to cross frontiers."

PAKISTAN: Radio Pakistan said India had "launched an all-out offensive
against East Pakistan -- without a formal declaration of war."

November 23, 1971

PAKISTAN: Yahya Khan ordered a state of emergency throughout the
country. At the UN in New York, a Pakistani spokesman charged that 12
Indian divisions supported by 38 battalions of border security forces
had assaulted the Jessore, Chittagong, Sylhet and Rangpur districts of
East Pakistan.

November 24, 1971

CHINA: Premier Chou En-lai received the Pakistani Ambassador to
Peking, K. M. Kaiser, and expressed his "concern over teh military
provocation carried out by India along the East Pakistan border in the
past few days."

PAKISTAN: All military reserve officers and officers on leave before
retirement had been asked to report for duty immediately, Radio
Pakistan reported. (India had a partial mobilisation of its reserves
in mid-October.)

November 25, 1971

PAKISTAN: President Yahya Khan said the explosive situation with India
had carried that country to the "point of no return." He said Pakistan
would "defend its honour and territorial integrity with all forces at
its command" in the event of an open conflict with India.

November 26, 1971

PAKISTAN: Yahya Khan banned the entire National Awami Party and its
factions -- of pro-Peking Maulana Bashani in East Pakistan and of
pro-Moscow Wali Khan, the frontier leader of West Pakistan -- for
working "for the enemies of Pakistan."

November 29, 1971

PAKISTAN: In a telegram addressed to Yahya Khan, the International
Commission of Jurists in Genva expressed its anxiety over "the complet
shroud of secrecy" which has covered the trial of the Awami League
leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, "since its inception." The telegram
said the Commission was convinced that the execution of Mujibur "could
only serve to aggravate irretriavably an already overwhelmingly tragic
situation of the people of Pakistan."

November 30, 1971

INDIA: Premier Indira Gandhi demanded withdrawal of Pakistani troops
from East Pakistan, claiming their presence "is a threat to our
security."

December 1, 1971

INDIA: The US had suspended the issuance of all further munitions list
licences to India, it was officially announced in Washington. Some
existing licences -- valued at about US$2 million -- were canelled.

December 3, 1971

INDIA: The government declared a national emergency following
Pakistani air raids in northwestern India. President V.V. Giri
summoned both houses of Parliament into a special session the
following day to approve the Defence of India Bill -- emergency
legislation to give the government wide pollice powers.

PAKISTAN: US Senator William Saxbe, on a visit to West Pakistan, said
Yahya Khan had told him that detained Awami League leader Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman was in "excellent health." Yahya declined to let Saxbe
see the Sheikh.

December 4, 1971

PAKISTAN: President Yahya Khan said the war "will be the final war
with India." "We are fighting for our country's integrity and
honour. God is with us in our mission."

December 5, 1971

PAKISTAN: According to US Senate Refugee Subcommittee estimates, war
and famine in East Pakistan might cost up to 25 million lives, which
Senator Edward Kennedy termed "the greatest human disaster of modern
times."

UNITED NATIONS: The Soviet Union vetoed in the Security Council a US
resolution calling for a ceasefire and bilateral troop withdrawal
along the India-Pakistan borders. Russia offered instead a resolution
calling for a "political settlement" in East Pakistan and urging the
Pakistan government to cease "all acts of violence by Pakistani forces
in East Pakistan which have led to the deterioration of the
situation."

December 6, 1971

INDIA: The State Department in Washington announced it was cutting off
US$87.6 million in development loans to India. A department spokesman
said the freeze should be viewed in the context that "the US is not
making a short term contribution to the Indian economy to make it
easier for the Indian government to sustain its military efforts."
India formally recognised the government of Bangla Desh. Pakistan
retaliated by breaking diplomatic ties with India.

UNITED NATIONS: After three days of fruitless debate, the Security
Council voted 11-0 with four abstentions to put the issue of the
Indo-Pakistan War before the General Assembly.

December 7, 1971

INDIA: White House officials in Washington charged India had resorted
to armed force without justification, before US-promoted efforts to
peacefully settle East Pakistan's future were exhausted. The officials
claimed Nixon, in his November 4 White House meeting with Mrs. Gandhi,
said Pakistan had agreed to withdraw its troops near the Indian
border, to meet a timetable to return Pakistan to civilian rule by
late December and grant amnesty to refugees who had fled from Pakistan
too India.

PAKISTAN: President Yahya Khan announced formation of a centre
coalition government headed by an East Pakistani Nurul Amin, leader of
the United Coalition Party. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Chairman of the
Pakistan People's Party was named Vice-Premier. Yahya said he had
intended to announce the formation of the new government on December
27.
An official spokesman said that during the past three days 305
civilians had been killed by the Indian Air Force in bombing and
strafing in both parts of Pakistan. About 500 had been injured.

UNITED NATIONS: The UN announced that it had diverted sea shipments of
UN assistance for the East Pakistani refugees in India.
The General Assembly by a 104-11 vote called on India and Pakistan to
stop shooting and to withdraw their troops. The assembly did not act
on the Chinese demand for the "strongest condemnation" of Indian
"aggression" against Pakistan. A pro-India Soviet resolution was not
put to the vote.

December 10, 1971

INDIA: India and Bangla Desh had reached an "understanding" for the
return of an estimated 10 million Bengali refugees to their homeland,
an official spokesman revealed. The agreement also provided that
Indian forces and the Mukti Bahini rebels would work "in concert under
the unified command" of the Indian commander in any area of conflict.

December 11, 1971

PAKISTAN: The Prime Minister-designate, Nurul Amin, said Pakistan was
ready to "discuss and settle matters peacefully" if India accepted a
ceasefire and withdrew its troops from Pakistani territory: "On the
other hand, India must know that our people are as strong as a rock and
that we shall win the war."

December 12, 1971

INDIA: President Nixon again called on the UN Security Council to urge a
ceasefire in the India-Pakistan war and immediate withdrawal of Indian
troops from Pakistan. A White House statement also accused India of
"defiance of world opinion." A soviet delegation led by Deputy Foreign
Minister, Vassily Kusnetsov, arrived in New Dehli from Moscow for
consultations with India about the war.

December 13, 1971

INDIA: An official spokesman said India had detected Chinese troop
movements evidently designed "to show political solidarity with Pakistan."
The spokesman said India believed China "has nothing to gain" by
intervening int he India-Pakistan War.
Finance Minister Y.B.Chavan announced new taxes -- expected to secure
about Rs. 1,350 million in a full year -- in a move to bring in additional
funds for India's defence effort.

UNITED NATIONS: The soviet Union vetoed in the Security Council for the
third time an American Resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and
the withdrawal of Indian and Pakistani forces to their own sides of the
border.

December 15, 1971

INDIA: A government spokesman said a request for a ceasefire had been received
from the Pakistani military commanders in East Pakistan and that a reply
accepting the request and conditions of surrender of Pakistani troops in the
region had been sent.

PAKISTAN: The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Karachi Zone, in an unanimous
resolution, urged the Government to "immediately sign a defence pact with
China." The resolution asked President Yahya Khan to "send a delegation to
peking for this purpose" under the leadership of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the PPP
Chairman currently in New York.

December 16, 1971

INDIA: The Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi announced the "unconditional surrender"
of Pakistani troops in East Pakistan and a unilateral ceasefire on the western
front. In Rawalpindi, Pakistani President Yahya Khan said his troops would go
on fighting: "The people of Pakistan will not rest until we have thrown the enemy
out of our country."

December 17, 1971

CHINA: Premier Chou En-lai said the fall of East Pakistan was "the starting
point of a constant struggle on the South Asian subcontinent and for the defeat
of the Indian aggressors." He accused "social imperialism" (the Soviet Union)
of having "supported the Indian aggression in order to build a world empire."

PAKISTAN: Pakistan accepted an Indian offer of a ceasefire on the western front.

December 19, 1971

INDIA: Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram said India alone would decide when and if
territory captured in the war with Pakistan would be returned. He said "no
outside pressure" would be allowed to dictate to India peace terms with Pakistan.

December 20, 1971

PAKISTAN: President Yahya Khan resigned and handed over power to Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto.
Bhutto said he wanted to bring East Pakistan back into the nations and appealed
to Pakistanis to "give me a little time." He also said he wanted to be on good
terms with India, but insisted Indians must quit Pakistan.