Pakistan remembers Fall of Dhaka tragedy on 50th anniversary today

ISLAMABAD – The 50th anniversary of the separation of East Pakistan is being observed today on a somber note as the creation of Bangladesh is one of the most sensitive and tragic chapters in the history of the South Asian country.

As the trauma of partition may now be behind us, stories of 1971 still raise hackles among anyone who lived through that era.

Fall of Dhaka provides Pakistanis with an occasion to reflect deeply while there is no doubt about the fact that India played a sinister role in the secession of East Pakistan, while the ruling elite was equally responsible for the ‘break-up’.

It all started earlier in 1962 when Awami league leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and India jointly started planning against the breaking up of Pakistan. India openly sided with East Pakistan and provided them with financial, military, and diplomatic support.

At the time of this tragic incident, Mujeebur Rehman, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and General Yehya had major roles in the politics of the country.

During the conflict, on 16 December 1971, India invaded East Pakistan and forced forces to surrender and evade. There are two forceful narratives on what exactly happened, while history is unequivocal.

Indian agencies played upon Bengali sentiments in the aftermath of the 1965 Pak-India war through its intelligence agency RAW and when the right opportunity struck, the Indians were well-prepared.

After the Second World War, this was the only conflict in which a surrender had taken place on such a large scale. Following the creation of Bangladesh, Pakistan was deprived of being the Muslim state with the largest population and area size.

India also created a guerrilla resistance movement dubbed as, Mukti Bahini, comprising Indian agents, extremist Hindu, and outlawed Bengalis. The militant group carried out massive atrocities against the Bengali population including killings, rapes, loot, and plunder whereas Indian media falsely blamed all such activities on Pakistan Army.

The terror group also indiscriminately targeted the pro-Pakistan population of East Pakistan and some reports claimed that around 66,000 non-Bengalis were killed amid the Indian scheme to separate East Pakistan.

Indian incumbent premier Narendra Modi has openly admitted the role of his country in the dismemberment of East Pakistan.

The day is a never forgetting chapter in the history of Pakistan, and in order to get to the depth of the incident, a Hamoodur Rahman commission was tasked to probe in this regard while the report has not been made public.