KARACHI: President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto yesterday [Jan 3] announced that he would release Sheikh Mujibur Rehman unconditionally. He said that on his return to Rawalpindi from Larka­­na (where he will celebrate his birthday on Jan 5), he would hold more talks with the Sheikh and then release him. Mr Bhutto made this dramatic announcement at a mammoth public meeting here — his first in Karachi as the Head of State.

... Mr Bhutto said that there were two opinions on the question of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman’s release. One point of view was that the detained leader should be used as a “trump card” for bargaining. The other view ... was that he should be released unconditionally. He himself subscribed to this view, the President said.

At this stage, he directly asked the audience for their opinion. The people responded with ... sho­u­­ts of “Mujib ko ba-izzat riha karo”. … He recalled his meeting with Sheikh Mujib on Dec 27 and that the first question Mujib asked was whether he (Mujib) was free. “I told him that as far as I am concerned, you are free and can go anywhere”, Mr Bhutto said and added that he asked Sheikh Mujib to give him some time to ...go to the people and get their approval... .

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2022