SIXTEEN months after East Pakistan, with the help of Indian military might, successfully won its war of independence from West Pakistan to form the nation of Bangladesh, political strife continues to plague the Asian subcontinent.

Both India and Pakistan are faced with the problem of political splinter groups advocating territorial secession, while Bangladesh must confront the economic problems of an emerging Third World nation.

There is also the diplomatic issue for the Bengali government of repatriating 93,000 Pakistani POWs (including 20,000 civilians) being held in India from the 1971 war. The POW issue is a crucial one, since it thus far has chilled the already tenuous diplomatic relations on the sub-continent.

The stalemate over the return of the Pakistani POWs has revolved around the issue of diplomatic recognition for Bangladesh. Thus far, Bangladesh has maintained that negotiations on repatriation of the prisoners cannot be held until Pakistan recognizes the legitimacy of the Bengali government. Pakistan has said that the prisoners should have been repatriated at the war's end in accordance with the Geneva Convention.

In the midst of the deadlock, India's alliance with Bangladesh has compelled her to keep the prisoners with the burden of supporting the POWs and justifying her position in the light of world opinion urging their release.

Recently, the issue has been complicated by Pakistani accusations of murder and torture of prisoners by Indian guards and by trial proceedings being held by the Bengali government against Pakistanis charged with war crimes.

It is undoubtedly clear that Bangladesh has established itself as a sovereign state free of any connections with the Pakistani government. The overwhelming victory that Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his Awami League party won in March at the polls has given them a clear mandate in the Bengali government and in negotiations concerning POW return.

On March 4, Sheikh Mujib reaffirmed the Bengali demand that the prisoners could only be returned after Pakistan recognizes Bangladesh, and said that the proposed war crime trials had to be held "in the name of humanity."

Apparently, proceedings for the war crime trials are already underway. On April 3, Banglar Bani, the ruling Awami League journal of Bangladesh, said that 300 Pakistani prisoners would be handed over by India to Bangladesh for trial.

Thus far, no trials have been held, but the adamant threats of the Bengalis have increased diplomatic tension over the POW issue.

The actions of Sheikh Mujib have conflicted sharply with a statement by President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan last month in an interview with Time magazine. Bhutto said that Pakistan was "determined to recognize [Bangladesh] provided there is machinery whereby we get our prisoners of war back."

Bhutto went on to say that he felt the stalemate would be broken after the March elections in Bangladesh and the framing of a new constitution for Pakistan.

At the moment, the election of Sheikh Mujib has not changed Bangladesh's position on the prisoners, while the framing of a new constitution for Pakistan was completed last week. The old constitution had still provided for the existence of East Pakistan, a provision which the Bengalis opposed.

The question of whether or not Bhutto will break the deadlock in the POW issue and accord recognition to Bangladesh has thus far been viewed as crucial to the present situation. It seems apparent, however, that such recognition will not come before there is an agreement upon some mechanism for releasing the prisoners.

Bhutto reaffirmed his statements in Time magazine in an interview for London Weekend in late March, stating that it would be wrong to put Pakistani prisoners on trial since they were only discharging their duty in an effort to keep the country intact.

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.

Indications of torture and killing of the prisoners has brought further concern in the international realm regarding the POWs. Most of the people who have visited the camps say that the prisoners are housed in barracks and treated humanely. They maintain that the military prisoners are provided with a regular allowance to purchase meats, soap and cigarettes.

Reports regarding the POWs have conflicted, however. A statement issued by the International Committee of the Red Cross in October 1972 (one that has since been disavowed by the organization) concerning the shooting of six prisoners said that "two at least, if not three, seemed to be cases rather of cold-blooded murder than of self-defense [by the prison guards]."

Official Indian radio broadcasts have also indicated that 43 POWs have been killed and 69 wounded since hostilities in Bangladesh ended in 1971.

Several actions have been taken in recent weeks to put diplomatic pressure on the Indian government to release the prisoners.

On March 27, a conference of Islamic foreign ministers in Benghazi, Libya, appealed to India for the immediate release of the prisoners.

On the same day, Chou En-lai, Premier of The Peoples Republic of China, told a newsman in Peking that "if one favors justice, one must speak out on this subject."

On April 5, Pakistan again formally called upon the 115 signatory countries of the Geneva Convention "to do everything in their power to ensure respect of the Geneva Conventions in the matter of repatriation of Pakistani POWs."

The current issue of Newsweek magazine contains an article describing current efforts by wives of Pakistani POWs to make people aware of the plight of the prisoners. The article says that they have followed the pattern of their "American counterparts...placing full-page ads in the Western press, touring the U.S. and Europe and buttonholing every foreign newsman they can find to tell their story."

It seems apparent, however, that as long as India remains loyal to the Bengali government and President Bhutto fails to concede the Bengali demands until international law is recognized, the prisoner issues will remain deadlocked.

At the heart of the issue is a long history of political struggle on the subcontinent. India's support of Bangladesh in her war of independence only intensified this struggle and magnified the deep rifts which had already existed between the governments of India and Pakistan.

Her continued violation of the Geneva Convention adds salt to the wounds of an already bloodied diplomatic situation.

It is clear from recent accounts that India is beginning to feel the burden of supporting the POWs, a cost of $20 million thus far. However, the Bengalis continue to use the POWs as political pawns in an attempt to gain concessions from Pakistan, and without their consent the Indian government is reluctant to take any formal steps towards releasing the prisoners.

The only bargaining point that Pakistan's President Bhutto can resort to is the 160,000 Bengali detainees being held in Pakistan. And, according to the current Newsweek article, "Bhutto fears that if he recognizes the Dacca regime, the Bengalis and the Indians will only demand more concessions."

It is apparent that the POW issue is hopelessly deadlocked at the present time, a situation which seriously undermines any hopes for peace on the subcontinent in the near future.

But the real victims of this conflict are the military and civilian prisoners themselves, who rot away in the prison camps of India while the diplomatic volleyball is tossed about between the governments of the three nations.

Perhaps the best advice that Americans can take regarding the issue is found in an advertisement of the April 13 issue of The New York Times. The ad, sponsored by two private Pakistani foundations, said, "Congratulations, Women of U.S.A., your boys are back home...but think of the wives, mothers, sisters and daughters of 90,000 Pakistani POWs and Civil Internees in India."

It seems apparent that diplomatic recognition will not come before there is an agreement upon some mechanism for releasing the prisoners.

Official Indian radio broadcasts have indicated that 43 POWS have been killed and 69 wounded since hostilities in Bangladesh ended in 1971.