RAWALPINDI: “Daily Express” of London stated that Indian troops are moving into East Pakistan. The paper carried a report from its foreign desk saying the Indian troops have taken care to leave their Army uniforms behind and are infiltrating over the border in civvies. The troops have been warned that if they are captured, their Government will not take any responsibility for them.

The number of “irregulars” estimated from a few hundred to more than a thousand appears to be increasing all the time. They are a warning to the Pakistan Army, says the “Daily Express” that if the fighting continues for much longer they will have more than “ill-armed” Bengalis to deal with.

The paper adds: “though India is officially standing by ‘doing nothing’, Mrs Indira Gandhi’s Government is unquestionably supplying arms and ammunition to the rebels. It is questionable whether she will be prepared to carry on operating from the shadows”. …Details of the Indian action received here today from other sources say that some senior commanders of the regular Indian Army are directing the operations of the Indian Border Force in East Pakistan. … The reports say that India’s 76, 81 and 83 BSF battalions are engaged in “operations” inside East Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2021