KARACHI: Mr Zulfikar Ali Bhutto ... yesterday [April 14] demanded banning of those political parties which opposed the creation of Pakistan. At a Press conference, the People’s Party leader said that the Awami League was rightly banned by the present regime. He said that those parties which opposed the creation of Pakistan should also be banned. He said that “one party” which suffered ignominious defeat in the last election and was against the creation of Pakistan, gave its total support to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s six-point programme and now true to its characteristic, it has again made a volte-face. He said that a party that did not believe in it could not come to the rescue of it in its hour of crisis. If Awami League is to be banned, those parties which opposed the creation of Pakistan should also be banned.

Mr Bhutto criticised those political leaders who, he said, were supporting Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and demanding handing over power to him. He said that while these “gentlemen” are now busy condemning Indian aggression on a “safe wicket” they should go on record properly and unambiguously to tell the nation [where] they stand on the outlawed Awami League’s six-point programme....

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2021