NEW DELHI: The 195 Pakistani prisoners of war held in India since the war of 1971 will be freed under an agreement signed by the three countries here tonight [April 9]. Although the text of the agreement worked out by the Foreign Ministers of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh will not be released until tomorrow, an authoritative source confirmed that Bangladesh dropped its plans to put the men on trial.

The Ministers — Mr Swaran Singh of India, Mr Aziz Ahmed of Pakistan and Dr Kamal Hosain of Bangladesh — signed the first-ever agreement between the three countries after five days of tough negotiations. At the signing ceremony, they described it as a major step towards the goal of establishing a lasting peace on the Sub-continent.

Pakistan is believed to be willing to re-examine the cases of Biharis and non-Bengalis stranded in Bangladesh. … The agreement was signed after seven hours of painstaking talks today. … Speaking after the signing ceremony, Mr Aziz Ahmed … described the accord as “an historic agreement not only because it was the first tripartite accord in the subcontinent, but also because it was a big step forward towards the pursuit of the objectives of the Simla Agreement”.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2024