Dhaka: Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, before March 1 of 1971, had wanted to know from US ambassador to (the then) Pakistan Josheph S Farland that how the US aid would come to ‘Independent Bangladesh’.

Even Bangabandhu wanted to know from him whether USA would help him (Mujib) in case of military intervention by the West Pakistani military junta.

This information was found in the secret documents unveiled on last March 31. At that time the US was ready to see the birth of a new nation.

This information, sent by CIA, was kept in secret for the last 43 years. That revealed information tells that “Mujib was clearly thinking of severing ties with the Pakistani union. He just took the tactics to win in the liberation movement.”

The document also revealed that he even uttered the proclamation of ‘independence’ of East Pakistan to the foreign journalists before March 4.

The Bengali officers, appointed at the Pakistan embassy at Washington, also had talks with the US officials regarding the diplomatic relations between the USA and the emerging new country indicated the secret documents.

Two members of US National Security Council Harold Sanders and Samuel Hoskinson communicated this message in a memorandum from Dhaka to President Nixon’s security adviser Henry Kissinger on March 1, 1971. They described the developments in Dhaka as an ‘advanced step’ to liberate East Pakistan.  
Describing the latest situation in Pakistan, those two members also mentioned the ‘six point demand’ of Sheikh Mujib.  

They wrote that Sheikh Mujib was ‘intensively’ thinking about ‘East Pakistan’ and completely ‘disagreed’ in the question of autonomy. Because he is in favor of normalizing relations with India and had also reached to a conflicting point with die-hard anti-Indian Yahiya and Bhutto.   

It was also mentioned that there was not even some slim chances of understanding and Mujib can take the decision in no time to come out of the framework of Pakistan union as it was the proper time for him. His thinking is most ‘clear’ to come out.

Regarding the position of USA these two officials wrote that after all we are going to be a witness of a possible birth of a new nation in this unstable region of Asia. At this moment it is not important to ‘control’ rather we might have some thing to do and to observe how this new nation takes birth either in a peaceful way or through a bloody civil war.  

It was further written that how the US will be active in case of a bloody civil war for that we are to wait for another 24 hours.

Henry Kissinger was told in the memorandum, there is emergency planning in NSSSM 118. In 24 hours that will be done. As soon we receive the instructions considering the situation we would send it to you with recommendations.

Moreover those two national security council members in another memorandum, sent on March 4, 1971, informed Kissinger that Mujib ‘Off the record’ told the foreign correspondents that on Sunday March 7 he would proclaim Independence where there will be clear announcement  for two separate constitutions for the two wings of Pakistan.

The memorandum also contained the information that President Yahiya had practically rejected the chances of adjustments between two wings by refusing the conference of March 10 of the big political parties.

In the next line of the message it was mentioned that the Bengali officers in Pakistan embassy at Washington had already contacted the State Department and held discussions about the future bilateral relations between USA and Independent ‘East Pakistan’. They were sure that they would lose job and the present DCM who happens to be a Bengali (East Pakistani) will be the Charge de Affairs of the new embassy.  

In the memorandum, quoting CIA secret services, it was told that the armed aggression by bringing soldiers by air and sea will face stiff resistance from the Bengalese who could not be subdued and the reply will be met with violence.   

Another secret document received by Banglanews about a note of Nixon’s Security adviser Kissinger presented to the president on March 13, 1971.

Kissinger had written in the note, ‘It is evident from the speech of the East Pakistani leader that he has adopted a tactics. Economic emancipation is very close to Independence and he will not deviate till he achieves that target.’  

In the note to Nixon, Kissinger told that our embassy in Islamabad thinks that Mujib’s target is unchangeable – ‘economic emancipation’ from West Pakistan which still appears that it is provincial autonomy within Pakistan.

But this is an outward view. But Mujib firmly believes that the ‘emancipation’ he told can only come through complete Independence.

BDST: 1823 HRS, APR 11, 2014