Pakistan’s President Yahya Khan on 22 March in 1971 announced to suspend the National Assembly session, which was scheduled to begin on 25 March, saying that it was deferred to bring the political parties and leaders to a consensus through discussions.

Awami League Chief Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and President Yahya Khan sat in a meeting at the president’s house in the morning.

It was the sixth meeting between the AL chief and the president. The discussion lasted for around one hour and fifteen minutes.

At the beginning of the meeting, Mujib asked Yahya if he had gone through the Awami League proposal regarding a proclamation and whether his government agreed to it.

Yahya said before the proclamation, he needed the consent of the PPP chairman. Then, Mujib told the president to pressurise Bhutto to accept the idea of proclamation as early as possible as otherwise he thought that the situation would deteriorate further.

Upon the completion of the meeting, Mujib termed the ongoing non-cooperation movement as the struggle for total emancipation of seven crore Bangalees.

He told journalists that the movement would continue until the final goal was achieved.

Four advisers of the president and five jurists of the PPP also had a discussion meeting on the day.

They opposed the demand of the Awami League for withdrawal of martial law and transfer of power before the session of the National Assembly on the plea of legal complicity.

On the same day, leaders of the PPP, led by Bhutto, returned to the hotel under tight security after their visit to the presidential palace at noon. Protesters chanted anti-Bhutto slogans outside the hotel watching the PPP chief’s return.

Bhutto then sat for a meeting with his advisers. Upon completion of the meeting, he went to the presidential palace again in the evening. Returning from there at night, Bhutto held a press conference in his hotel lounge.

ZA Bhutto said his party was examining the draft proclamation that the Awami League and the government had been discussing over the last several days.

He also said they were scrutinising the broad agreement reached between Yahya and Mujib and assured that his party would make all efforts to reach an understanding to end the ongoing crisis.

Besides, Yahya Khan had met some other leaders from West Pakistan and reviewed the whole political situation.

On this day, numerous processions with different slogans went to Sheikh Mujib’s residence at Dhanmondi 32. The daily newspapers published the news the next day and wrote that never before had so many processions gone there in one day.

Addressing the people, Mujib said, “We have been oppressed for 23 years, and we do not want to be oppressed anymore. The blood of the martyrs will not be allowed to go in vain. We will give more blood if needed. But this time we will realise the demand of Bengal.”

According to Rabindranath Trivedi’s “Ekattorer Dosh Mash”, a supplement was published in several newspapers in Dhaka on this day under the headline “Bengal’s Independence”. A statement signed by Mujib was published in the supplement.

Prof Muzaffar Ahmed Chowdhury and Prof Rehman Sobhan wrote articles in that supplement. The Observer Group’s newspapers did not publish the supplement that day. They printed it the next day.