Yahya in an interview 31 July 1971

0;00 how did it across my border I went to

0:02the india-pakistan border rangoon that

0:06were bangor the border is not a defined

0:13line it’s a mass of trees and bushes and

0:17and they were in water fair and these

0:21people who saw but not refugees from

0:25East Pakistan I can arrange a lot of

0:28influx of refugees into Pakistan if you

0:31like to come with me to East Pakistan I

0:32will show you how they are coming from

0:33India but they are not to come in and

0:35nor are my refugees going back with them

0:36you’re saying the people I saw coming

0:38with their kitchens and their houses on

0:40their heads and all their belongings

0:42with them were not refugees from

0:43Pakistan no my impression is President

0:48that and it seems we bonded shared by

0:49many other observers who visited the

0:51captain India but the Bengal is are

0:53leaving because they are they feel

0:55insecure because they feel that there is

0:57a persecution against them by the army

0:59which will continue now is it it is it

1:01in your thinking that they should be

1:02persecution against these people

1:07I think any government which would like

1:10to persecute their own people

1:14is nothing but exaggerated lies army has

1:19persecuted nobody army has tried to save

1:2370 million people of his Pakistan

1:26against armed rebels of his Pakistan who

1:30were excited and incited by new theory

1:33and philosophy of our league for

1:36secession the vast majority of Pakistan

1:40in East Pakistan have caved a sigh of

1:46relief that this trend and this movement

1:50and this agitation has stopped the color

1:52of our nation so you’re saying to your

1:54knowledge there has never been and there

1:56is is not Lucknow a selective policy of

1:59genocide of any kind in East Pakistan

2:00will certainly not the most common

2:03criticism against you abroad is that you

2:05are out of touch that you don’t know

2:07what’s going on in East Pakistan what is

2:09your comment on that huh well if a head

2:12of a state is out of touch with any part

2:14of his country I don’t think he has and

2:17it done right Romania that home state

2:18I’m a soldier basically and you know I’m

2:21not a politician

2:22I don’t want to stick to this job the

2:23moment I find our touch out of touch

2:26with my people I shall quit I’m not

2:28thought of touching people I know is

2:30Pakistan like the palm of my hand I’ve

2:32served there in many capacities I know

2:36is Pakistan more than least Pakistan is

2:38no themselves because they have got the

2:41facilities move around like I have so

2:44answer to your question is that I’m not

2:47out of touch I know exactly what’s

2:49happening and what’s more I have visited

2:52East Pakistan I will continue visiting

2:54is Pakistan and

2:56how come when you say out of touch I

3:00happen to be a head of a state

3:02consisting of 120 million people but I

3:07don’t claim that I I have gone and

3:09talked to every one of those hundred

3:11million people but the personal contact

3:16with individuals is not the only means

3:18of a head of state knowing what’s

3:19happening in this country just no doubt

3:21in your mind that all that’s going on

3:22there you know absolutely I am

3:33saw on my own TV two nights ago

3:38not a blood flowing in the streets of

3:40Aden

3:41I saw the Armed Forces playing for these

3:47civilians and I saw the civilians going

3:50for down forces made me wonder whether I

3:55was watching a scene in Pakistan or

3:57somebody else I was a short that was an

3:59Arlen

4:00so what do you people talk about army

4:04genocide an army repression the basic

4:09factor is that no government what’s his

4:11name will allow Allah sness no

4:15government versus name will allow this

4:18kind of

4:21brutal activities against their own

4:23people