YAHYA IS UNDER PRESSURE TO STEP DOWN Report by J. D. Singh from London
THE TIMES OF INDIA (Bombay) September 22, 1971
The military junta in Islamabad is deeply split and President Yahya Khan is under increasing pressure to quit, according to highly-placed Pakistani sources. Most of the junta is united behind its aim to prevent the secession of East Bengal. They are as “hawkish” as the President himself. •But they have come to realist that a political settlement to prevent secession will be impossible without a change of leadership at the top. In other words, they want to make President Yahya Khan and his commander in East Bengal until recently, General Tikka Khan, scapegoats in a murky behind-the-scenes drama. The split in the junta has deepened with the conclusion of the Soviet treaty and the knowledge that China, even though it has publicly expressed its support for Pakistan, may not be quite willing to give it military aid. These sources recall that China had laid down certain impossible conditions when Pakistan asked for military assistance during the 1965 war with India.
The military junta in Islamabad is deeply split and President Yahya Khan is under increasing pressure to quit, according to highly-placed Pakistani sources. Most of the junta is united behind its aim to prevent the secession of East Bengal. They are as “hawkish” as the President himself. •But they have come to realist that a political settlement to prevent secession will be impossible without a change of leadership at the top. In other words, they want to make President Yahya Khan and his commander in East Bengal until recently, General Tikka Khan, scapegoats in a murky behind-the-scenes drama. The split in the junta has deepened with the conclusion of the Soviet treaty and the knowledge that China, even though it has publicly expressed its support for Pakistan, may not be quite willing to give it military aid. These sources recall that China had laid down certain impossible conditions when Pakistan asked for military assistance during the 1965 war with India.
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