Yahya heaps invectives on Bangabandhu, AL in radio broadcast

Prisoners broke out of the Dhaka Central Jail on March 6 of 1971 on the 5th day of the non-cooperation movement, strike was observed in the city peacefully. At around 11:00am, 321 prisoners broke out of the central jail to escapes seven of them were shot dead and 30 others injured.
In the afternoon, President Yahya Khan of Pakistan announced on the radio that the National Assembly would meet on March 25. Peoples Party Chairman Zulfikhar Ali Bhutto welcomed the new date announced by President Yahya.
Meanwhile, after the retirement of Yaqub Khan,
Yahya had appointed Gen Tikka Khan, called the notorious Butcher of Baluchistan to take over as governor of East Pakistan. He arrived in Dhaka and was ready to take the oath on this day, when Chief Justice BA Siddiky refused to administer oath to him.
Bangabandhu called an emergency meeting of his party's working committee, to mull over the president's new date for the National Assembly session. They also had a major decision to make -- whether or not the declaration of independence would be made the next day March 7.
President Yahya Khan in the address to the nation on March 6 announced that the National Assembly would meet on March 25. He added the warning, 'Let me make it absolutely clear that no matter what happens, as long as I am in command of the Pakistan Armed Forces and Head of the State, I will ensure complete and absolute integrity of Pakistan. Let there be no mistake on this point. I have a duty towards millions of people of East and West Pakistan to preserve this country. They expect this from me and I shall not fail them.'
He threatened the Bengalis saying that "as long as Pakistan military was under his command and as long as he was the president, he would ensure the solidarity of Pakistan unchallenged."
Whoever heard Yahya Khan's broadcast on that day will never forget the experience. The manner in which the 'gesture' was made and the tone of voice left no doubt whatsoever of his real intentions. He had not a single word to assuage outraged Bengali sentiments, nor did he make the slightest effort at reconciliation. Instead, he heaped invectives on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Awami League.
Soon after the radio announcement of the new date for the National Assembly, people in Narayanganj and Dhaka broke out in spontaneous processions, accordingly people came out from homes and the situation worsened.
Muslim League Leader Air Marshal Malik Nur Khan criticized Yahya. In an interview in Lahore, he said that it was the legal right of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to be able to rule the country. He recommended that all barriers to the handover of power be overcome immediately. He also expressed sorrow over the accusation made by Yahya on Bangabandhu.
On three separate occasions between March 3 and March 24 Bengali members of armed forces approached Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for guidance because they had no illusions about what was coming.
In the evening Bangabandhu was engaged in an emergency meeting of the party's working committee to consider the President's new date for the National Assembly meeting. The Awami Leaguers also had to decide whether or not to make the declaration of independence that the people were clamouring for. The pressure for this was extreme. On one side were the powerful student groups insisting on announcing the break up with West Pakistan and on the other side were the agitated street crowds.
The discussions had taken up the whole night but the Awami League was still undecided. Finally Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman decided to speak out about this issue - the next day, March 7 of 1971 - on the Race Course Ground (now Suhwardy Udyan).
The pressure on Bangabandhu for declaring independence was tremendous, and kept mounting, student groups insisting on the announcement, people of East Pakistan roaring for the declaration of independence�..East Pakistan citizens wanting to be known forever as Bengalis. Conditions were fast slipping out of the government's control in East Pakistan with the movement going forward.
The meeting for such intense and vital decisions ended up taking the whole night. But the AL was still unclear about what was to take place the next day, until Bangabandhu made the decision himself -- to speak out publicly about this issue the next day, March 7 of 1971, on the Race Course ground.
The greatest speech in Bangladeshi history was about to be made.