The government of India, the country holding the Pakistani prisoners, has perhaps suffered the most from the POW issue and is presently displaying a more flexible attitude in an effort to solve the problem.

The original Indian involvement came when the Bengali drive for independence began in 1971. After Pakistani troops moved into the area, many refugees fled from East Pakistan into India. The Indians used this as the basis for moving their military into East Pakistan and subduing the Pakistani forces. The surrender of the Pakistani army came in December of 1971 to a joint military command representing India and Bangladesh.

The continued imprisonment of Pakistani soldiers in India has prevailed despite a U.N. Security Council resolution on December 17, 1971. This resolution called for a "ceasefire and cessation of hostilities," and repatriation of POWs and civilian internees according to the rules of the Geneva Convention.

The Indians, in addition to supporting Bangladesh and continuing to violate the Geneva accords, have also been accused of torturing and killing prisoners. The Karachi Sun reported on April 2 that India had killed its 43rd POW and that the Pakistani government had demanded an immediate inquiry. Such occurrences have only worked against any settlement of the POW issue.

The fact that India desires to bring about a solution to the POW issue has become increasingly clear in recent weeks. On March 31, Indian Premier Indira Ghandi told an Egyptian newspaper that "India does not want to keep the Pakistani prisoners but wants to turn them over to Pakistan within the framework of an overall settlement of problems between the two countries."

Two weeks ago, a special envoy from India arrived in Dacca, the capital of Bangladesh, to discuss the POW issue with Sheikh Mujibur. The New Delhi Statesman reported that the envoy was "seeking to end the stalemate in the POW issue," adding that he would have to go Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, after concluding his talks with Sheikh Mujibur.

The diplomatic problem that India faces is complicated by her ties with Bangladesh and the Bengalis' continued insistence on recognition from Pakistan and the necessity for war trials.

Premier Ghandi's interview seemed to indicate the awkward position India is confronted with when she said that any release of Pakistani POWs would not come "without the total involvement and concurrence of Bangladesh." Thus, India is trying to bring both countries together while being diplomatically bound to the Bengalis.

Indications that India is wearying of the POW issue were apparent in an editorial published in the April 4 edition of the New Delhi Statesman. "New Delhi is perhaps reconciled to the prospect of some trials being held," the statement said; "all it can hope for is that their number be restricted and Dacca will agree to the release of the bulk of the POWs without delay."

The international pressure being brought to bear upon India is rooted in her clear violation of both the Geneva accords of 1949 and the U.N. Security Council Resolution of 1971.

Article 118 of the Third Geneva Convention, of which India is a signatory, says that "prisoners of war shall be released and repatriated without delay after the cessation of active hostilities."

Thus far, the best defense India has presented regarding the legal question was a statement made by an Indian U.N. spokesman to a Chicago Tribune reporter in January. The spokesman maintained that the cease-fire currently in force on the subcontinent is "not the same as a cessation of hostilities." He added that Pakistan is "in an attitude of hostilities in suspension" toward Bangladesh.

A Tribune editorial on January 17 aptly described the Indian argument as "hair splitting of a high order of skill" which called for "a virtuosity in word twisting that borders on the dazzling."

In addition to India's violation of the Geneva Convention, she has also been accused of breaking an agreement made by the Indian Commander-in Chief, General Manekshaw, upon the surrender of the Pakistani forces in Bangladesh.

Manekshaw promised the Pakistanis his "solemn assurance" that those troops who surrendered would "be treated to dignity and respect that soldiers are entitled to." He added that he would "abide by the provisions of the Geneva Conventions." These promises were later reiterated in the documents signed by both the Pakistani and Indian commanders upon the surrender of the Pakistani forces.