1971 was a very difficult moment in the history of Pakistan. The loss of control of Dhaka was called the 'fall of Dhaka' or the 'fall of East Pakistan' in the country's media.
Adris Bakhtiar, at that time, was working in the newsroom of Pakistan Press International (PPI). That day, he was stunned when he read a three-line news item on the teleprinter, his hands and feet went numb.
The news item said that an agreement had been reached between Pakistani Lieutenant General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi and Indian General Jagjit Singh Arora, through which Niazi had surrendered with his troops.
Adris started crying after reading the news. When the news item was placed in front of the news editor, he also lowered his head at a glance.
Then Adris sat down on the ground from his standing position. His eyes were wide open and tears were flowing. He did not want anyone to see him in this state.
Whenever people gathered at the Karachi Union of Journalists' office to commemorate the surrender of the Pakistani army in Dhaka, Idris Bakhtiar would remember the incident and share it with journalists in a mournful voice.
Idris Bakhtiar, who passed away recently, would recall that day, saying, "I was just crying thinking about how to present this news to the people of Pakistan. And our news editor, who was not allowed to publish any news without his permission, was sitting with his hands on his hands as if he had nothing else to do."
How the news came to light:
Hussain Naqi, a veteran journalist and editor-in-chief of the popular English newspaper 'Punjab Punch', was describing how the news came to light.
He said that when the news of the fall of Dhaka reached West Pakistan, it was a big challenge for the state media to present it.
Later, a senior official of Pakistan Radio presented the news as follows: an agreement had been reached between the two local commanders, which had led to a halt in the fighting.
Some newspapers also reported that Indian troops had entered Dhaka after the agreement. But these reports were presented in a vague manner to minimize their impact on the public.
Copies were originally given to representatives of three Pakistani government agencies, who wrote the news over phone calls.
The following day, the news was published across the entire bottom of the front page of Pakistani newspapers.
On the same day, a speech by the then military ruler, General Muhammad Yahya Khan, published in the state media, was printed in eight-column headlines.
In which he declared that the war against the enemy would continue even after the fall of Dhaka.
In his speech, Yahya Khan mentioned the news of the agreement between the local commanders in such a way that even if one side retreated; the other side would have to continue fighting.
However, the very next day, the news of Yahya Khan's ceasefire was published in newspapers and magazines.
Opposition to Mujib by the Pakistani ruling class:
Yahya Khan announced a military operation in East Pakistan on March 25, 1971.
About three months earlier, in December 1970, general elections had been held there, in which Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Awami League had won with a huge majority.
But the central government and military officials did not want Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to be given the power to rule.
Discussions were held repeatedly between the central leadership of the majority party, the Awami League, and the second-placed People's Party to determine the future political situation.
The military ruler, General Yahya Khan, also came to Dhaka and held talks with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. But no agreement could be reached.
Journalist Hussain believed that both Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Yahya Khan wanted to have a greater influence on the future political system despite Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's huge majority. But their wishes could not be fulfilled. And that is why the crisis intensified.
General Yahya Khan adjourned the National Assembly session for the second time on March 22, 1971. This naturally angered the Awami League.
In an editorial on April 3 in the newspaper 'Mashreeq', published under the government-controlled Press Trust, writer Akhtarul Islam Siddiqui wrote,
Despite the sincere efforts of the President, Sheikh Mujib has remained adamant and has tried to implement the separatist policy. They have insulted the Pakistani flag and even torn the picture of Quaid-e-Azm (Mohammad Ali Jinnah).
The people of West Pakistan did not know about East Pakistan:
On March 26, 1971, the front page of the Nawa-e-Waqt newspaper reported clashes between protesters and the army in various cities of East Pakistan, such as Rangpur, Chittagong, Syedpur and Joydevpur.
The report stated that 64 people had been killed in these clashes.
The clashes broke out when the army personnel were unloading weapons from a ship. The next day's newspaper reported more major news:
- Bans were imposed on political parties throughout the country.
- Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his associates were declared traitors and the Awami League was declared illegal.
- Martial law was imposed and the army was given the responsibility to control the situation in East Pakistan and a curfew was imposed in the entire province.
- Censorship was imposed throughout the country.
In March 1971, military operations began in East Pakistan. The military government Martial law was imposed there. The independence movement in East Pakistan intensified day by day and the situation in West Pakistan went out of control.
According to the martial law administration, this step was necessary as the national integrity of East Pakistan was in danger.
At that time, due to martial law and censorship, the people of West Pakistan did not know what was happening in East Pakistan.
Various news stories were being published in West Pakistani newspapers about the situation in East Pakistan, including the entry of Indian armed groups into East Pakistan, support for separatists (who were freedom fighters in Bangladesh), sending weapons and huge financial aid to the separatists, and the deterioration of the situation in East Pakistan.
Condemnation of Indian intervention:
The government news agency and Radio Pakistan broadcast the news of India's intervention in East Pakistan and protested against it. They also condemned the activities of the separatists in East Pakistan.
Basically, after India's intervention in the situation in East Pakistan, the political situation in West Pakistan completely changed.
The government news agency Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) published a news story on 3 April 1971. The report had two important points:
- Awami League Chief Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had planned to destroy the Chittagong port, which was foiled.
- Indian arms were being distributed widely in East Pakistan.
In short, the news of the fall of Dhaka was not only a big shock to the people of Pakistan, it also brought to the fore the role of the media and the behavior of the government.
On the same day, the daily Mashriq Khabar reported that the Indian government had completed preparations to form a so-called Bangladesh government-in-exile and that India would recognize this government once it was announced.
The newspaper quoted Radio Pakistan in another report that there was a big Indian conspiracy behind supplying arms to the separatists in East Pakistan, especially Hindus.
Another report in the same newspaper mentioned that the Indian army had set up camps on the East Pakistani border, where terrorists were being trained, supplied with arms and sent to East Pakistan.
These reports created intense anger against India among the people of West Pakistan.
Sheikh Mujib was called a traitor:
The political leaders of West Pakistan were reacting strongly to this situation. Wali Khan condemned the Indian intervention and declared it a violation of international law.
An editorial in Mashreq on March 27 said that the CIA was plotting to separate East Pakistan to punish Pakistan for its ties with China.
Maulana Mufti Mahmud said that if foreign intervention in East Pakistan was considered legitimate, no country in the world would be safe.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman said that delay in resolving the crisis would be disastrous. However, his position was not accepted in West Pakistan. The leaders of the East Pakistan independence movement and the Awami League were subsequently branded as traitors.
Yahya Khan had declared Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his men traitors, while some journalists and analysts questioned their patriotism.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's arrest was described in the media as a 'reflection of the will of 12 crore Pakistanis'. Yahya Khan's decision to launch an operation in East Pakistan was also hailed as historic.
Many political leaders and military officers in West Pakistan claimed that India's intervention in the war that lasted from March to December 1971 was a conspiracy.
On 29 March 1971, a resolution was passed in the Indian Lok Sabha, stating that India would fully support the Bangladesh independence movement, even though Bangladesh did not exist at that time.
Similar reports in the media:
At that time, newspapers such as Jamaat-e-Islami's 'Asia' and the leftist 'Al-Fateh' condemned the Indian invasion of East Pakistan and expressed concern about the integrity of the country.
Hossain Naqi and other journalists said that despite ideological differences between Jamaat-e-Islami and the leftists, their newspapers' reports on East Pakistan were almost identical.
A one-sided message was being broadcast in the West Pakistani media, which harshly criticized the leaders of the East Pakistani separatist movement and the Awami League.
Salim Mansoor Khalid, explaining the real picture at that time, said that the media at that time only broadcast official statements.
The news was provided to journalists from government media sources such as the ISPR and the foreign ministry bulletins.
A former news director of Pakistan Television, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that at that time there were very few leaders or journalists who came on radio and television to speak against the government's statements.
Apart from news programs, no other programs were broadcast. After the news bulletins, there would be a special five- to seven-minute program called 'Khabar-e-Por-Non If it were, the media would have been completely dependent on the security.
Regarding how journalists got news, he said, there was a press room of the Press Information Department in Rawalpindi's RA Bazar. Once a day, or twice if necessary, journalists were briefed. In this briefing, the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Maqbool Bhatti, representatives of the three services and the ISPR chief, Brigadier AR Siddiqui, would participate. All news related to the operations and war in East Pakistan was provided from here. If necessary, the ISPR would also issue statements.
In such a situation, the people of West Pakistan also thought almost the same. Due to nationwide censorship, there was no opportunity to express any alternative views.
An example of the kind of problems newspapers faced in presenting the opposition's views can be found in the issue of Nawe Waqt dated April 1, 1971.
On that day, two pages, including the editorial page, were printed blank without any text.
To influence public opinion in West Pakistan, not only one-sided news was published, but special articles were also written to give a specific direction to public opinion based on that news.
In these articles, the patriotism of the Awami League and its leadership was questioned and their mandate was denied.
A place of anger for East Pakistanis:
The editor of Urdu Digest, Altaf Hasan Qureshi, published an article titled 'The River of Love is Flowing'. Journalist Naqi Hussain sees it as part of government propaganda.
However, Altaf Hasan Qureshi denied this allegation and said, "This article of mine was published in Urdu Digest in 1966. Therefore, calling it part of Yahya Khan's one-sided propaganda is not only wrong, but also shameful."
This journalist regularly visited different cities of East Pakistan and talked to people. There, he came to know about some of the grievances of the people of East Pakistan.
Their complaint began with the 1962 constitution, where provincial autonomy was completely abolished, while their main demand was provincial autonomy.
In addition, West Pakistan took full advantage of the income generated from jute produced in East Pakistan.
At that time, all these news were published in the newspapers, where the leadership of the Awami League and its six points were criticized.
According to Altaf Hasan, despite such allegations, the people of East Pakistan loved Pakistan and wanted to stay with Pakistan. They did not want separation.
However, this observation was in 1966. It was based on my experience that I wrote that famous article, titled "The River of Love is Flowing".
Until the start of the campaign in East Pakistan, the statements of Sheikh Mujib or his colleagues or party were published in the West Pakistani press, and since the campaign began, they were labeled traitors, agents of India or terrorists.
And Sheikh Mujib or his party was not even given a chance to defend themselves against these allegations.
The reporter spoke to an old woman to understand how this information reached the public at that time and what effect this news had on them.
The 80-year-old woman was young at the time and, according to the customs of that time, she did housework.
How did Bangladesh come to be? In response to this question, she thought for a while and said, "My late husband used to say that if the Hindus of East Pakistan had not voted for Mujib, Bangladesh would never have been separated." Source: BBC Bangla.
