DACCA: India today [Dec 2] threw in three more divisions supported by armour, artillery and Air Force on seven different fronts in East Pakistan. Our troops have brought to a grinding halt some of the Indian attacks after inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy. The Indian attacks were supported by armoured regiments besides divisional and corps artillery. The Indian Air Force also supported the land forces in the attack. This was the biggest attack launched by India since she committed aggression against Pakistan. The Indian troops succeeded in making dents in some of our defences while on others they were brought to a grinding halt… . — News Agencies

[Meanwhile, according to news agencies from the United Nations,] Pakistan yesterday [Dec 1] rejected the Indian demand for troop withdrawal from East Pakistan as “preposterous”. Asked to comment on … Mrs Indira Gandhi’s statement … that the Pakistani Army should withdraw from East Pakistan as a “gesture of peace”, Ambassador Agha Shahi told a New York television audience: “It is an extraordinary demand. East Pakistan is an integral part of Pakistan. Nobody can stop us from defending our territory”. He then posed a counter question: If the United States was asked to withdraw its troops from Hawaii and Alaska, would she do it.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2021