C T Online Desk: With each passing day, the situation in then East Pakistan was changing fast as people from different walks of life were strictly following the instructions given by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
On March 10 in 1971, the non-cooperation movement fell on the 9th consecutive day. Offices of all government and semi-government organisations and institutions remained closed.
The mass people got involved in a few sporadic clashes with the Pakistan Army in various areas. Crowds were seen agitating in many places ignoring the red eyes of the Pakistan military.
Agitation by the people made it difficult for the Pakistan army to move freely. Therefore, the Pakistani officers and soldiers almost confined themselves to the barracks to keep them safe from the people’s wrath.
The red and green Bangladeshi flag with the golden map of the yet-to-be independent country was hoisted on the roof of almost every household.
Bangladeshi flag was also seen in most government offices, including Rajarbagh Police Lines, different police stations and the High Court and residences of the justices.
Patriotic Bangla songs were played by Dhaka Betar while a series of programmes supporting the Bangalee cause were telecast from Pakistan Television’s Dhaka centre.
Awami League chief Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in a statement on the day thanked the people for continuing the movement, and said that the determination of the Bangalees will take them to their desired goal.
He also termed West Pakistan’s attitude towards the people of East Pakistan ‘a strategy to keep the country under a military rule for an indefinite period of time’.
In Karachi, National Awami Party (NAP) president Wali Khan, in a press briefing, said that he would visit East Pakistan and meet Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on March 13.
On this day, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Zulfiker Ali Bhutto sent a letter to Bangabandhu, saying that the future of the country seemed uncertain.
In Karachi, Air Marshal Asghar Khan said that East Pakistan was going towards a volatile situation and if West Pakistani leaders want to prevent the separation of the country, they must act fast.
He said Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became the de facto government in East Pakistan.
And the logic of his statement was reflected in East Pakistan as the flag of Pakistan was hoisted only on cantonment premises on the day.
