On August 14, 1973, the new constitution came into effect and Bhutto became prime minister from president. The day had a special significance for the PPP and Bhutto himself. He addressed the nation and discussed many important issues including the foreign policy, home matters, the role of the opposition and separatist movements.
He began with his usual rhetoric: “Today we bid goodbye, finally and for all time to the palace revolutions and military coups which plagued Pakistan for nearly two decades.” He decried ‘separatist tendencies’ and said: “We have pledged to Allah to permit no intrigues subversive of government… Let me make it clear that when I talk of the opposition, I am mindful of the fact that the Pakistan People’s Party may itself be in opposition some day,” he indicated that he had no intention of ruling the country in perpetuity. This was the first time he had expressed such an option.
Bhutto had yet to get a new date for his visit to the United States and meet President Nixon, thus he wanted to follow the Simla Accord, seek early release of POWs and return of occupied land. The efforts started after the permanent constitution became operational. Speaker Chaudhry Fazl Illahi became the president.
Diplomatic channels with India were open since the Simla Agreement. The follow-up talks were scheduled for August 18 in Delhi; Prithvi Nath Haskar (P N Haskar), principal secretary to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, expressed optimism about the success of these talks.
On August 13, a day before Bhutto’s taking over as prime minister under the new constitution, Foreign Affairs Committee on South Asia of US House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution pressing the Indian government to release Pakistani POWs and bypass Bangladesh for the war trials of 195 POWs. Pakistan’s minister of state for defence and foreign affairs, Aziz Ahmad and Rafi Raza, special assistant to Prime Minister Bhutto, arrived at Delhi on August 17. Mr Haskar was still in Dhaka to discuss the POWs issue in the light of the August 18 Delhi talks with Pakistan.
Talks began on August 18 starting on a sour note as Mr Haskar as well as his colleagues took the hard line and were not prepared to extend any concessions; the Pakistan delegation responded in the same tone. The talks inched forward quite slowly as both sides were cautious and were trying to understand each other’s viewpoint and sorting out all that could prevent any chance of derailing the negotiations process.
In the meantime, international pressure continued to mount. On August 19, China offered to restore full diplomatic relations with India on the condition that Pakistani POWs be released.
On August 21, leader of the delegation and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Bhutto, Rafi Raza called on the Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, and delivered a letter Prime Minister Bhutto had given for her. Twenty-four years later, Rafi Raza mentioning this says that Mrs Gandhi read the letter; “she looked at me and smiled a while and that was all. After that the talks proceeded smoothly.”
On August 24, Pakistan’s foreign secretary and a member of the Pakistani delegation, Agha Shahi, rushed to Islamabad and briefed the prime minister regarding the talks and the direction they were heading and sought his guidance as the talks had entered a crucial phase.
The Pakistani delegation called on Indian foreign minister, Swaran Singh and D P Dhar on August 28 and discussed the progress of the talks. By that time almost all details had been worked out and agreed upon by both sides. An accord was signed on the same day agreeing on the tripartite repatriation of 90,000 POWs — Bangladeshis from Pakistan and non-Bengalis from Bangladesh. However, the question of 195 POWs facing war crime trials was postponed to be decided by a meeting of the governments of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, later on.
US President Nixon welcomed the accord, as did the UN Secretary General. Both sides agreed that demarcation of Line of Control (LoC) would be completed by September 5 while the repatriation of POWs would begin from September 28. The first batch of 842 POWs was released on September 28, 1973. Thus a new phase in Indo-Pakistan ties began.
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