DACCA: At the resumed hearing of the Agartala Conspiracy Case before the Special Tribunal here today [July 29], the Chief Prosecution Counsel, Mr Manzoor Qadir, started recording evidence by examining prosecution witness number 1 and approver, Lt. Muzammil Hussain, who gave an account of the various meetings some of the accused are alleged to have had in Karachi to bring about what he described as the emancipation of East Pakistan.

He deposed that the Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had promised his “full support” to the revolutionary group set up for separating East Pakistan from the rest of the country.

The witness told the Court that he had attended some meetings of this group at the residence of Lt-Commander Moazzem, accused No. 2, when Sheikh Mujib, Ahmad Fazlur Rahman and few others were also present. When Lt-Commander Moazzem told Sheikh Mujib about the formation of the militant group, the latter assured him full support, including monetary assistance. But Sheikh Mujib asked Lt-Commander Moazzem to go slow with the group till the Presidential elections.

After the defeat of his party in the Presidential election, he found Sheikh Mujib “very angry” when he met him again in a group meeting, the witness said. The Awami League leader, according to him, said nothing was possible to achieve in Pakistan legally and promised to avenge the defeat in the election. — Correspondent

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2018