Statement by President Yahya Khan at
a Television interview on
Pakistan Television Corporation
The President, who was asked what would be the fate of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, said that the
leader of the defunct Awami League had deviated from
his electoral campaign in which he demanded autonomy for
President Yahya said that after
Sheikh Mujib got the mandate, he and a coterie of his
people deviated from that aim and wanted secession. In other words, he said,
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had
committed " acts of treason, acts of open
rebellion", and incited armed rebellion against the State.
In reply to a question, the President said that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was not his
opponent at all. The President said that he was only a caretaker and had
nothing to oppose Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
as a politician.
The President made it clear that he had no political
ambitions. He said as a soldier he was in his temporary duty of restoring the
authority of the people.
The President said he was sorry for what Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had done for which
he would suffer like any other person committing crimes on the nation would
suffer. " How would you treat your criminal
", he posed a question to the foreign news media representatives present
at the interview.
(THE DAWN, Karachi-August
5, 1971)
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