RAWALPINDI: President Bhutto disclosed here … that he had a meeting today [Dec 27] with Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, the elected leader who represented the people of East Pakistan. Talking to a select gathering ... he said ... “it had not been an easy step to take and he wished it was taken long ago”. The President said he could not disclose the details of the meeting at this stage, but he added that Sheikh Mujibur Rehman “did not kick him in the teeth nor did he himself find it necessary to pull a gun”. He said: “We sat and talked. We will continue to talk.”

… Mr Bhutto told a questioner his Government was working out the “modalities of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman’s liberty”. The President said he was acting in accordance with the wishes of the people. It was also the generally accepted view outside Pakistan, he added. … However, he said, he was an elected leader and … knew that people wanted to come to a satisfactory solution in keeping with the interest of the integrity and solidarity of Pakistan.

… He appealed to the Press and his countrymen to “look at our own mistakes”. He said: “Let us get together and find out what wrongs had been done …”.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2021