Thread by @Dmkt1

What Happened To Those Who Broke Up Pakistan In 1971 ?

By Ambassador Afrasiab Mehdi Hashmi Qureshi

Former Ambassador to Bangladesh looks at the sad saga behind the breakup of East & West Pakistan through the lens of examining what happened to the major characters involved during & after that period .

Only God knows , who was " Mainly , Directly & Actually Responsible " for the tragedy of 1971 . Only He knows who did what & only He knows what was going on in the minds of those who were doing whatever they were doing in 1971 .

According to Abdul Rahman Siddiqi , “ What happened on 16 December was the inevitable consequence of gross human negligence , misconduct & mismanagement , inviting divine wrath .

If anything like poetic justice exists , it did intervene to make a grim example of the principal players ….”

A former Bangladeshi High Commissioner , in a discussion with me at my residence (in Dhaka) , commented , “ We do know the tragic end of those who were responsible for 1971 .

But the most important aspect is to note that , divine punishment was proportionate to the crime committed .”

In August 1975 , less than 4 years after the creation of Bangladesh , the Father of the Nation , Sheikh Mujibur Rahman , was assassinated .

The Bangabandhu (the Great Friend of the Bengalis) , as he was called , was killed along with 18 members of his family . This included his 10-year-old son Sheikh Russel .

The gory assassinations were committed with surgical precision , by his own army , the Bangladesh Army . Only his daughters , Sheikh Hasina & Sheikh Rehana , were spared by destiny , as they were at that time outside Bangladesh

Referring to assassins & the assassination , Anthony Mascarenhas states , “… Noor fired a burst from his sten-gun . Mujib didn’t have a chance . The bullets tore a huge hole in his right side . His body twisted backward with the impact .

Then it slipped , face down , towards the bottom of the stairs . The pipe was still gripped tightly in the right hand . The time was 5:40 am (on 15 August) .

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s tempestuous love affair with the Bengalis had come to an end .” Mujib was to suffer a further ignominy after he was killed .

“ According to Farook , one of the attackers had never seen Mujib at close quarters . So , to get a good look at his face , the man slipped a boot under Mujib’s body & rudely flipped it over .

It was thus that the shattered remains of Bangabandhu were snapped 4 hours later by a photographer , especially brought for the purpose from the government’s Information Department .”

Paradoxically , in his last words before his death , the Bangabandhu had referred to Pakistan positively , or so it may seem . Waking up from gunshots ringing loud , Sheikh Mujib came out of his room on the upper story of the Prime Ministers House .

Dressed in a traditional nightgown , he addressed his killers lodged on the ground floor , “ What are you here for ?”

One foot-soldier stared directly in the Bangabandhu’s eyes , & shouted : “ (We are here) For you !” Mujib taunted the would-be assassin & said : “ Haa ! The Pakistan Army could not kill me , how dare you do it !” And then happened , what has been narrated above .

Ironically , a little less than a year ago , when The Pakistan Army came to arrest Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from his Dhanmondi residence in Dhaka , he was respectfully escorted away to West Pakistan . When his own army came , they killed him & his entire family .

It is said that assassins of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had earlier approached an " Andha Hafiz " (Blind Old Holy Man) in Chittagong , for his blessings , before they executed their plan .

The Hafiz gave them a talisman . Later , he is said to have remarked , “ Do whatever you want . But make sure , Islam does not get in danger in Bangladesh .”

In a discussion at my residence in Dhaka , a Bangladeshi industrialist narrated an " Ominous Anecdote ." During a visit to Karachi in August 1975 , he was invited by family friends to a dinner at a sea-side restaurant .

An " Old Baba " , (Holy Man) known for spiritual leanings , was among the small gathering of guests .

The dinner ended quite late . As the guests were departing , the old man enquired about the time from the host . When told that midnight was approaching , he murmured :

“ Mujib Is Gone ! Mujib Is Gone !” Hours later , it was reported that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had been assassinated .

The discussion took place with the " Old Baba " on 14 August , the Independence Day of Pakistan : Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated in the early morning of 15 August , the Independence Day of India .

Persons convicted of killing Sheikh Mujibur Rahman were hanged in Dhaka Central Jail , much later in January 2010 . According to the Bangladeshi authorities , 6 more convicts have been absconding in India & other countries .

Ironically , New Delhi has been lukewarm in it's response to the repeated requests from the Bangladeshi government to arrest & repatriate the assassins of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to Bangladesh .

Sheikh Mujib’s only grandson , Sajeeb Wazed Joy , has married a Jewish lady & lives in United States with occasional visits to Bangladesh . He received his education in India when he & his mother , Sheikh Hasina , used to live in Vasant Vihar , New Delhi .

Less than 3 months after Sheikh Mujib’s assassination , Tajuddin Ahmad , the 1st Prime Minister of Bangladesh , along with others who had sought Indian help for the break-up of Pakistan in the late 1960's , also had an ugly encounter with death .

According to a narrative : “ … the 4 men who had been most prominent in the Mujibnagar government in Calcutta – Tajuddin Ahmad , Syed Nazrul Islam , Mansoor Ali & Kamruzzaman ” were “ Rounded-Up ” & put in jail .

It happened after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman . Mansoor Ali had served as Prime Minister of Bangladesh , Syed Nazrul Islam was at one time the country’s Vice President & Kamruzzaman had been Sheikh Mujib’s close confidant .

“ While in jail , these 4 political leaders became the object of a diabolical contingency plan which would ultimately result in their massacre …

Tajuddin & Nazrul Islam shared one cell : Mansoor Ali & Kamruzzaman , an adjoining one . They were all brought together in Tajuddin’s cell & killed with Automatic fire from close range .

3 of them died immediately . The 4th , Tajuddin , had bullet wounds in his abdomen & leg . He seems to have slowly bled to death . Horrified prisoners in adjacent cells , later told the family that they could hear him moaning & calling out for water …”

The case with General Ziaur Rahman was not very different . After Sheikh Mujib , Zia served as President of Bangladesh from 1977 to 1981 .

Coincidentally , Zia was assassinated in Chittagong (May 1981) , the city from where he , as a Major in The Pakistan Army , had declared the independence of Bangladesh in March 1971 .

Some even say that the Circuit House in the city where he was assassinated , was the very place where he had made the said announcement against Pakistan .

Not many would know that Chittagong’s old name is Islamabad . (Incidentally , the ancient name of Istanbul in Muslim Türkiye is Islambul .)

Commenting on the gory massacre , it is said that : “ President Zia’s body lay unattended for a long time on the floor of the verandah where it had fallen . Lieutenant Colonel Mahtabul Islam , his personal physician , had pronounced Zia dead but did nothing about the body .

None of the BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) leaders or the Commissioner of Chittagong , senior civil & police officers & the Navy Chief who visited the Circuit House early in the morning , did anything to protect it .

They did not even have the grace to place the President’s body on a bed , but let it lie on the floor like some odious piece of baggage .”

General Ziaur Rahman’s son , Arafat Rahman Koko , met a premature death . He died relatively young on 24 January 2015 . His other son Tariq Rahman , who was born in Karachi , lives in exile in London .

While referring to 1971 , many Bangladeshis would sarcastically remark : “ Our Father of the Nation is not Sheikh Mujibur Rahman . Our real Father of Nation is Zulfikar Ali Bhutto , as he broke Pakistan .”

A history Professor in Dhaka University was more graphic . He commented : “…Julfikar (Zulfikar) Ali Bhutto was hanged to death (Rawalpindi : 4 April 1979) …

his son Murtaza had premature death in police encounter in Karachi when Murtaza’s sister Benazir Bhutto was the Prime Minister of Pakistan …. Julfikar (Zulfikar) Bhutto’s other son , Shahnawaz , died earlier of poisoning (July 1985) .”

Shafqat Kakakhel was working as a young officer in the Foreign Service of Pakistan in the 1970's . (Later , he was appointed Pakistan’s Ambassador to Kenya in 2001.) During the Islamic Summit Conference in Lahore in February 1974 , his services were utilized as a Translator .

During the banquet hosted by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto at the Lahore Fort for the visiting Heads of States/Governments , Kakakhel recalls an exciting conversation between Bhutto & Mujib while King Faisal & the Amir of Kuwait were seated nearby .

Bhutto said to Mujib : “ You are helpless ! You cannot take any decision without the approval of Indira Gandhi !” Mujib retorted : “ Bhutto Sahib , do not insult me … You know too well , whatever happened was because of you !”

Benazir Bhutto fell victim to a terror attack in Rawalpindi in December 2007 , when Pakistan needed her the most .

I remember while conveying his condolences on her passing away , Türkish Ambassador in New Delhi commented to the Pakistani High Commissioner there , Shahid Malik : “ Pakistan , what an unfortunate country !”

During my 1st call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina , as High Commissioner in January 2012 , she remarked : “ Benazir is gone & I am still alive !”

The principal actor of the tragedy of 1971 , Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her own Sikh security guards in October 1984 .

In the words of the Indian analyst Kuldip Nayar : “ Months before her assassination .” Indira Gandhi used to say : “ They're now after me !” Insiders also quoted her as stating : “ They're not going to spare me .” She never specified , who were the people who were after her .

Indira Gandhi’s heir apparent , Sanjay Gandhi died in a sudden plane crash in New Delhi at a young age in June 1980 . Sanjay had enforced sterilization campaign on the Indian Muslims to decrease their population growth rate .

👇🏻 📸 President Major General Zia Ur Rahman greeted by the crowds in Bangladesh , late 1970’s .

This happened when the infamous Emergency was imposed in India . In the process , hundreds of families were attacked & numerous incidents of gang-rape of Muslim women took place , some of which were reported : others just went unnoticed .

Indira Gandhi’s other son , Rajiv Gandhi , who served as the 6th Prime Minister of India (1984 - 1989) was later assassinated in a suicide attack in May 1991 .

After his dismissal from the army : “ In disgrace ” , (Former President of United Pakistan) , Yahya Khan was put “ Under House Arrest .” Later , he became paralyzed & died after a prolonged illness .

According to Brigadier Abdul Rahman Siddiqi : “ When I last saw him at his brother Agha Mohammad Ali’s house in Lahore , he lay in bed completely immobilized . His eyes were wide open , staring blankly into space , hardly recognizing me . He died in August 1979 .”

During a conversation in Dhaka in early 2012 , the well-known Pakistani film actress of one time , Shabnam & her husband Robin Ghosh mentioned to me that they had personally witnessed people jeering at Yahya Khan ,

whenever they saw him standing “ All Alone ” on the roof of the house where he spent his last days in Lahore . (Shabnam was from East Pakistan . She continued to live in Pakistan after 1971 . She returned to Dhaka for permanent residence in the late 1990's , for family reasons.)

Lieutenant General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi was an ex-communicated man . He was “ The Last Pakistani Soldier ” to cross the Wagha border into Pakistan on 30 April 1974 .

According to Colonel S.P. Salunke , only a Provincial Education Minister , Abdul Khalik , represented the elected government of Pakistan , to receive Niazi at the border .

It is said that whenever General Niazi visited the Army Mess , even the military officers avoided talking to him .

Air Marshal Rahim Khan was the Commander in Chief of the Pakistan Airforce during the 1971 war . He spent his last days in United States as a lonely man .

I was serving as 3rd Secretary in our Embassy in Washington , DC (1987 - 1991) , when one day , we learned that Rahim Khan had passed away .

Ambassador Air Chief Marshal (Retd) Zulfiqar Ali Khan directed all officers of the Mission to attend the funeral . We witnessed the late Air Marshal buried in a solitary grave in a solitary graveyard in a solitary place near the American capital .

Had the officers of the Pakistan Embassy not been there , there would have been nobody to attend the funeral of the late Air Chief , except his daughter .

It is said that the head of the Pakistan Army in 1971 , “ (General) Hamid outlived Yahya Khan by a number of years & died at his Lahore home , unsung & unmourned .”

Gul Hassan , who held important assignments at the General Headquarters , Rawalpindi in 1971 , was promoted as Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army on 21 December 1971 by President Bhutto but was

“ Summarily retired on 2 March 1972 … Disfigured by a rash of leukoderma , he died in 1997 at the CMH , Rawalpindi , after a long bout with cancer .”

General Gul Hasan remained a bachelor till his retirement from the Army . Later , he was appointed as Ambassador of Pakistan to Vienna , where I served as 1st Secretary in the late 1990's .

There , he married an Austrian lady who ran a small barbershop . Pakistani Generals never marry barbers .

Human nature is multifaceted & omnidirectional . The human psyche is complex & complicated . Whatever had to happen happened : there is another side to the story also , which should not be ignored .

Even in 2014 , some Bangladeshis would tell the Pakistani High Commissioner in Dhaka with all sincerity , that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman “ Never wanted the break-up of Pakistan .”

The son of a private physician to Sheikh Mujib told me at the Indian National Day Reception in January 2013 that his father used to say that Mujib had “ Only Raised The Threshold ” with Islamabad , in the hope that President Yahya would agree to his demands .

But , when the situation reached : “ The point of no return , he had no option but to go for Bangladesh .” According to another account ,

when Mujib was informed about the 1971 developments during his custody in Islamabad , he fell in prostration & remarked that he had no hand in the dismemberment of the Islamic Republic Of Pakistan .

There should be no doubt that Mujib used to actively participate in the Pakistan movement in Bengal for the creation of Pakistan .

He had also worked as the chief polling representative of Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah when she contested the Presidential elections against Ayub Khan in 1965 .

On several occasions , I enquired from intellectuals in Dhaka whether Bangladesh’s relations with Pakistan would have been better : “ Had Sheikh Mujib been alive today .” Each one of them categorically stressed Bangladesh would have had : “ The best of relations with Pakistan .”

Awami League ideologues describe Sheikh Mujib as : “ The greatest Bengali of all times .”

Other Awami Leaguers rate him as : “ One who is even greater than Rabindranath Tagore .” Those who know Mujib well would say that :

“ In financial matters .” he was : “ Above board .” Mujib’s reputation suffered mainly due to the wrongdoings of his family members .

In personal life , “ He was simple & austere .”

Many consider Zulfikar Ali Bhutto a : “ Political Genius ” some call him an “ Evil Genius ” . Some Bangladeshis today , also respect Bhutto : “ For giving the Islamic world , a nuclear bomb .”

Others even opine that like President Field Marshal Ayub Khan : “ Bhutto knew too well way back in 1966 , that it was not really possible for East Pakistan to remain part of Pakistan for long .”

Henry Kissinger was not impressed by many . It is said that on top of the list of people who left a deep impression on his mind was Chinese Premier Chou Enlai & “ Then it was the Prime Minister of Pakistan , Zulfikar Ali Bhutto .”

It was Chou Enlai who , in a meeting , had remarked to Bhutto after the debacle of East Pakistan , “ Do not worry … Take a long-term view , who knows what is going to happen in the subcontinent 50 years from now , 70 years from now , 100 years from now !”

In discussion with me in Dhaka , Nepalese Ambassador Hari Kumar Shrestha made an interesting remark . He said : “ Democracy came to Nepal because of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto .”

He added : “ When Bhutto was executed (April 1979) , demonstrations took place on the streets of Kathmandu in favour of Bhutto …. This is how the people of Nepal learned to protest & demonstrate for their rights against the King & the royal autocracy .”

In late 1973 & after that , demonstrations broke out in Pakistan , emphasizing the government never to extend recognition to Bangladesh .

In an informal address to the nation in February 1974 , Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto stressed that if Pakistan did not recognize Bangladesh , Islam , over a period of time , “ Will disappear from Bengal .”

Many would rightly say that General Yahya Khan was morally bankrupt . Nobody would deny the fact that " Financially " Yahya was a very honest man . As Chairman of the Islamabad Capital Development Authority in the early 1960's , he could have made money .

He did not . If media reports are correct , his son , Ali Yahya , had approached President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for a job , as he was almost destitute .

At the time of death , General Gul Hasan did not have a house of his own . He died in a military Mess . Lieutenant General Niazi was called : “ Tiger Niazi ” .

It was Brigadier D.F.W. Warren , Commanding Officer of the 161st Infantry Division of the British Army , who gave him this soubriquet , for valor in World War II .

The British gave Niazi the ‘
" Military Cross " . It is said that in December 1944 , Lord Wavell , Viceroy of India , “ Knighted General Slim & his commanders , Scoones , Stopford & Christison in the very presence of Lord Mountbatten .”

Only 2 Indian officers of the Royal British Army were chosen for the honour : “ One was Niazi & the other was Major (later Field Marshal) Sam Manekshaw .”

General Ziaur Rahman was a professional soldier of the Pakistan Army . He had fought for the integrity & solidarity of Pakistan when India attacked Pakistan in 1965 . As President of Bangladesh , he asserted his country’s independent foreign policy on matters relating to India .

Even today , a large number of Bangladeshis hold Zia in high respect & esteem .

As a Brahman Hindu , Indira Gandhi did what , according to her , she should have done : Break up Muslim Pakistan – the largest Muslim country in the world . Certainly , she was not too intelligent , nor was her India too powerful , to have done a " Good Job ".

She had all the help she needed from powerful quarters in Washington DC , Tel Aviv , Moscow & other world capitals .

Immediately after her assassination on 31 October 1984 , violent riots broke out in India against the Sikh population . By various accounts , “ 2000 Sikhs were massacred in just one day , in Delhi alone .”

Many Sikhs shaved off their beards for fear of threats to their lives & properties .

Several Sikh families even sought refuge at the residences of Pakistani diplomats in New Delhi . Later , when a Sikh delegation called on Rajiv Gandhi to convey their plight , he sarcastically remarked : “ When a large tree collapses , ants do get crushed .”

The Lieutenant-General of the Indian Army , Jagjit Singh Aurora , who led his country’s military campaign in East Pakistan in 1971 , was a Sikh . He had personal connections with Pakistan . He was born near Jhelum in what became Pakistan after 1947 .

Aurora was not a happy man to see the holiest place of the Sikh religion , Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) , desecrated by the Indian army during " Operation Blue Star " on 1 June 1984 - 8 June 1984 .

Major General Shabeg Singh of the Indian army was earlier in his career responsible for the training of the Mukti Bahini in 1971 . He was mercilessly killed by his own very army when he was leading the Sikh force defending the Golden Temple during Operation Blue Star .

Shabeg Singh was an old Ravian having studied in Government College , Lahore .

Lieutenant General Kuldip Singh Brar had led the Operation Blue Star . By various accounts , his boss , the Chief of Staff of the Indian Army ,

General Arun Shridhar Vaidya , had given him instructions to attack the Golden Temple on Guru Arjan Dev’s " Martyrdom Day " to “ Kill the maximum number of Sikhs so as to teach Sikhs a lesson they will remember forever .”

Kuldip Singh Brar had actively participated in the 1971 war against Pakistan . Brar , even today , is running for his life . Living under full police protection in Mumbai , he has survived several attempts on life , including one in London in September 2012 .

In an interview with The Independent in September 2013 , the former General said : “ I don’t know how I will eventually pass away : if I will die a natural death or I’m assassinated .”

As regards General Arun Shridhar Vaidya himself , readers would recall what had happened . Following his retirement on 31 January 1986 as one of India’s most decorated military officers , the General took up residence in Pune .

Just 6 months later , on 10 August 1986 , he was shot to death . According to police reports , 4 clean-shaven men pulled up alongside his car on motorcycles , with the lead assassin firing 3 shots at Vaidya .

The 1st 2 bullets penetrated his brain & killed him instantly . A 3rd bullet struck Vaidya in the shoulder , with another striking his wife in the neck . The bleeding general was carried to the hospital in a passing van & was declared “ Brought Dead .”

The witnesses who deposed in court said that the assailants were clean-shaven , but later the assassins were seen in turban & beard .

Following the assassination , the Khalistan Commando Force , in a statement , declared that Vaidya had been killed in retaliation for the Golden Temple Operation .

As a Brigadier , Arun Shridhar Vaidya had actively participated in the 1971 conflict . Importantly , the " Foundation Stone " of the Golden Temple was laid centuries ago in December 1588 , by a Muslim saint Hazrat Mian Mir . Mian Mir was from what is today Pakistan .

It is said that later , a mason tried to “ Straighten The Stone ” as it was a little uneven . Sikh Guru Arjan chided the mason & said : “ You should not have done this …The stone was laid by a holy Muslim saint .

Now , I fear the Sikh community will have to face tremendous difficulties in the future .”

Indeed , all this is a sad story , sad saga & the saddest tragedy for the Muslims of South Asia . Sometimes , even Indians have been commenting : “ Was it a wise decision on part of New Delhi to create 2 Pakistans in 1971 !”

Bangladesh is the only state in the world that came into being on the basis of Bengali nationalism . Now , on its West , India has to deal with Muslim Pakistan & on it's East , India has to deal with both Muslim & Bengali Bangladesh .

In 1971 , India was a country ruled by the ideals of Karamchand Gandhi & Jawaharlal Nehru . Today , India is ruled by the Rashtarya Swayamsevakh Sangh , whose activists like Narendra Modi , silently eulogize not Gandhi but his assassin Nathuram Godse .

The Muslims of Pakistan & the Muslims of Bangladesh are aware of all this . They are carefully noting what Hindu fundamentalist India is doing to the Muslims in India & the Muslims in Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir .

Those who know Pakistan might know that " Pakistan Is Not Just A Country : Pakistan Is Also An Idea ." Pakistan is a very powerful idea that continues to live on ever since 712 AD .

In fact , Pakistan’s soul is much bigger than it's size . Perhaps , this is the reason that during his visit to Islamabad in the wake of 9/11 ,

French Foreign Minister Vedrin stressed to his Pakistani counterpart Abdus Sattar : “ When Pakistan Looks North , The Islamic World Looks North : When Pakistan Looks South , The Islamic World Looks South .”

May Pakistan remain strong forever (Amin) . May the Muslims of Bangladesh remain happy & may they prosper forever (Amin) .

Ambassador Afrasiab served as High Commissioner of Pakistan to Bangladesh from 2011 to 2014 & has worked in various capacities in the Pakistani Missions in Washington DC , New Delhi & Beijing . Afrasiab has authored several books on issues relevant to Pakistan’s foreign policy .

This write-up has been excerpted from his book titled :

" 1971 : Fact & Fiction "

whose 4th print was published in 2016 .