would not harm West Pakistan's interests. He also pressed Yahya to withdraw the declaration of martial law immediately; Yahya refused, claiming legal difficulties with that. Mujib offered his assistants, Tajuddin and Kamal Hossain, to meet Khan's legal experts to sort out the difficulties. Yahya accepted the offer, and Kamal Hossain and Tajuddin met his experts and made some progress. Troops and arms were being concentrated from West Pakistan. Mujib urged Yahya to stop the reinforcements, warning him of the consequences. The Awami League leadership expected that on 24 March final negotiations would take place, however, that day passed with no meeting. On 25 March they learned that Yahya's delegation had secretly left Dhaka, leaving the discussions unfinished, killing any hope for a peaceful settlement. Bangladesh Liberation War Though Yahya Khan promised to resume talks on 25 March, everybody was apprehensive that an armed conflict was imminent. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman kept ordering his workers to escape to safety. Despite Tajuddin's and others' repeated insistence, Mujib refused to escape until 25 March, fearing it would be used as a pretext to massacre innocent Pakistanis. Tajuddin also remained in Dhaka until 25 March, the night Yahya secretly left Dhaka and the Pakistan Army cracked down on the Bangladeshi population there, killing thousands of people. Like the entire nation, the Awami League's leadership was taken by surprise; they scattered, each busy finding their own path to safety, and losing contact with one another for a few days. On the night of 25 March, Tajuddin and his trusted long-time comrade Amir-ul Islam left their homes and families and went into hiding. They secretly left Dhaka on 27 March for neighbouring India. Tajuddin came to learn days later that Sheikh Mujib had been arrested on the night of 25 March. Before his arrest, he broadcast the independence of Bangladesh in a radio message. After a perilous journey, mostly on foot through Kushtia and Chuadanga, Tajuddin and Amir-ul Islam crossed the Indian border on 30 March. At the border outpost the regional head of the Indian border security force (BSF), Golok Majumdar received them. Majudmar immediately transported them to Kolkata with him. There, on the night of 30 March and the next day, Tajuddin and Islam had discussions with BSF chief Rustamji, who had come from Delhi after learning of their arrival. On 1 April, Tajuddin and Islam, accompanied by Majumdar, left for Delhi aboard a military