{{Short description|Former provincial wing of Pakistan (1956–1971)}} {{Use Pakistani English|date=March 2021}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}} {{Infobox country | conventional_long_name = East Pakistan | native_name = {{native name|bn|পূর্ব পাকিস্তান}}<br/>{{native name|ur|{{nq|مشرقی پاکستان}}}} | common_name = East Pakistan | status = Administrative unit of Pakistan | flag_p1 = | p1 = East Bengal | s1 = Provisional Government of Bangladesh | flag_s1 = Flag of Bangladesh (1971).svg | anthem = Torana-i-Pakistan | image_map = East Pakistan (orthographic projection).svg | map_caption = Location of Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) in green and present-day Pakistan (then the Western wing of Pakistan) in light green | flag_type_article = | image_coat = File:Emblem of East Pakistan (1970–1971) (Green version).svg | symbol = Emblem of East Pakistan | symbol_type = Emblem | capital = Dacca | largest_city = capital | official_languages = {{Hlist|Bengali|English}} | languages_type = Native languages | languages = {{Hlist|Chakma|Tripuri|Marma|Tanchangya}} | religion = | demonym = {{Hlist|Bengali|East Pakistani|Pakistani}} | government_type = Self-governing wing subject to the federal government | legislature = Provincial Assembly | area_km2 = 148460 | population_census = 44,251,826<ref name="bangla"/> | population_census_year = 1951 | title_leader = Chief Ministers | leader1 = Abu Hussain Sarkar | year_leader1 = 1955–1956, 1958 | leader2 = Ataur Rahman Khan | year_leader2 = 1956–1958, 1958 | title_representative = Governors | representative1 = Amiruddin Ahmad | year_representative1 = 1955–1956 | representative2 = A. K. Fazlul Huq | year_representative2 = 1956–1958 | representative3 = Zakir Husain | year_representative3 = 1958–1960 | representative4 = Ghulam Faruque Khan | year_representative4 = 1962 | representative5 = Abdul Motaleb Malik | year_representative5 = 1971 | title_deputy = Administrator<sup>a</sup> | deputy1 = Azam Khan | year_deputy1 = 1960–1962 | deputy2 = Abdul Monem Khan | year_deputy2 = 1962–1969 | deputy3 = Mirza Nurul Huda | year_deputy3 = 1969 | deputy4 = Lt. Gen. Sahabzada Yaqub Khan, PA | year_deputy4 = 1969, 1971 | deputy5 = VADM, Syed Mohammad Ahsan, PN | year_deputy5 = 1969–1971 | deputy6 = Lt Gen, Tikka Khan, PA | year_deputy6 = 1971 | deputy7 = Lt Gen, A. A. K. Niazi, PA | year_deputy7 = 1971 | date_start = 29 February | event1 = Legal Framework Order | date_event1 = 1 July 1970 | year_start = 1956 | event_start = Establishment | date_end = 16 December | year_end = 1971 | event_end = Disestablished | currency = Pakistani rupee | time_zone = UTC+06:00 | today = Bangladesh{{efn|See territorial exchanges between Bangladesh and India (India–Bangladesh enclaves).}} }} {{History of Bangladesh}} {{Former administrative units of Pakistan}} '''East Pakistan'''{{efn|{{ublist|{{langx|bn|পূর্ব পাকিস্তান|Purbô Pakistan|engvar=in}}, {{IPA|bn|ˈpuɾboˑ ˈpakistan|pron}}| {{langx|ur|مشرقی پاکستان|Maśriqī Pākistān|engvar=in}}, {{IPA|ur|məʃɾɪqiː paːkɪstaːn|pron}}}}}} was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1956 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, with a coastline on the Bay of Bengal. To distinguish this region from India's state West Bengal (which is also known as "Indian Bengal"), East Pakistan was known as "Pakistani Bengal". East Pakistanis were popularly known as "Pakistani Bengalis". In 1971, East Pakistan became the newly independent state Bangladesh, which means "country of Bengal" or "country of Bengalis" or "land of Bengalis" in the Bengali language.
East Pakistan was formed with West Pakistan at the reorganisation of One Unit Scheme orchestrated by the 3rd prime minister of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali. The Constitution of Pakistan of 1956 replaced the Pakistani monarchy with an Islamic republic. Bengali politician H.S. Suhrawardy served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan between 1956 and 1957 and a Bengali bureaucrat Iskander Mirza became the first President of Pakistan. The 1958 Pakistani coup d'état brought general Ayub Khan to power. Khan replaced Mirza as president and launched a crackdown against pro-democracy leaders. Khan enacted the Constitution of Pakistan of 1962 which ended universal suffrage. By 1966, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman emerged as the preeminent opposition leader in Pakistan and launched the six-point movement for autonomy and democracy. The 1969 uprising in East Pakistan contributed to Ayub Khan's overthrow. Another general, Yahya Khan, usurped the presidency and enacted martial law. In 1970, Yahya Khan organised Pakistan's first federal general election. The Awami League emerged as the single largest party, followed by the Pakistan Peoples Party. The military junta stalled in accepting the results, leading to civil disobedience, the Bangladesh Liberation War, 1971 Bangladesh genocide<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1359141 |title=Special report: The Breakup of Pakistan 1969-1971 |date=23 September 2017 |work=Dawn |location=Pakistan |access-date=16 December 2017 |archive-date=16 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216060125/https://www.dawn.com/news/1359141 |url-status=live }}</ref> and persecution of Biharis.
The East Pakistan Provincial Assembly was the legislative body of the territory, it was the largest provincial legislature in Pakistan and elections were held only twice in 1954 and 1970. During the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, most Bengali members elected to the Pakistani National Assembly and the East Pakistani provincial assembly became members of the Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh.
Due to the strategic importance of East Pakistan, the Pakistani union was a member of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization. The economy of East Pakistan grew at an average of 2.6% between 1960 and 1965. The federal government invested more funds and foreign aid in West Pakistan, even though East Pakistan generated a major share of exports. However, President Ayub Khan did implement significant industrialisation in East Pakistan. The Kaptai Dam was built in 1965, and the Eastern Refinery was established in Chittagong. Dacca was declared as the ''second capital'' of Pakistan and planned as the home of the national parliament. The government recruited American architect Louis Kahn to design the national assembly complex in Dacca.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://architectuul.com/architecture/national-assembly-building-of-bangladesh|title=National Assembly Building of Bangladesh|access-date=16 December 2021|archive-date=7 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007030617/https://architectuul.com/architecture/national-assembly-building-of-bangladesh|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==History== {{Main|History of East Pakistan}}
===One Unit and Islamic Republic=== [[File:HSS and Eisenhower.jpg|thumb|Suhrawardy (middle) with US President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles]]
In 1955, Prime Minister Mohammad Ali Bogra implemented the One Unit scheme which merged the four western provinces into a single unit called West Pakistan by the Establishment of West Pakistan Act, 1955 while East Bengal was renamed as East Pakistan by the 1956 Constitution of Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pakistan - Political decline and bureaucratic ascendancy |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Pakistan/Political-decline-and-bureaucratic-ascendancy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107105103/https://www.britannica.com/place/Pakistan/Political-decline-and-bureaucratic-ascendancy |archive-date=7 November 2018 |access-date=27 January 2023 |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref>
Pakistan ended its dominion status and adopted a republican constitution in 1956, which proclaimed an Islamic republic.<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 August 2024 |title=PARLIAMENTARY HISTORY |url=https://na.gov.pk/en/content.php?id=75 |access-date=29 August 2024 |website=National Assembly of Pakistan}}</ref> The populist leader H. S. Suhrawardy of East Pakistan was appointed prime minister of Pakistan. As soon as he became the prime minister, Suhrawardy initiated legal work reviving the joint electorate system. There was strong opposition and resentment to the joint electorate system in West Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rais |first=Rasul |date=2024 |title=Religious Radicalism and Security in South Asia |url=https://dkiapcss.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/PagesfromReligiousRadicalismandSecurityinSouthAsiach19.pdf |access-date=29 August 2024 |website=Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies}}</ref> The Muslim League had taken the cause to the public and began calling for the implementation of a separate electorate system. In contrast to West Pakistan, the joint electorate was highly popular in East Pakistan. The tug of war with the Muslim League to establish the appropriate electorate caused problems for his government.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Maksud |first1=Syed Abul |title=THE PIONEER OF DEMOCRACY |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/op-ed/politics/the-pioneer-democracy-139390 |access-date=27 December 2025 |work=The Daily Star |date=8 September 2015 |language=en}}</ref>
Efforts leading to centralising the economy were met with great resistance in West Pakistan when the elite monopolist and the business community angrily refused to adhere to his policies.{{Citation needed|date= February 2022}} The business community in Karachi began its political struggle to undermine any attempts of financial distribution of the US$10 million ICA aid to the better part of East Pakistan and to set up a consolidated national shipping corporation. In the financial cities of West Pakistan, such as Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, and Peshawar, a series of major labour strikes against the economic policies of Suhrawardy were supported by the elite business community and the private sector.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Dr Rajkumar |date=2020-01-10 |title=Sea of difference between East and West Pakistan |url=https://thekootneeti.in/2020/01/10/sea-of-difference-between-east-and-west-pakistan-op-ed-dr-rajkumar-singh/ |access-date=2022-04-22 |language=en-US |archive-date=15 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815060446/https://thekootneeti.in/2020/01/10/sea-of-difference-between-east-and-west-pakistan-op-ed-dr-rajkumar-singh/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Furthermore, in order to divert attention from the controversial One Unit Program, Prime Minister Suhrawardy tried to end the crisis by calling a small group of investors to set up small businesses in the country. Despite many initiatives and holding off the NFC Award Program, Suhrawardy's political position and image deteriorated in the four provinces in West Pakistan. Many nationalist leaders and activists of the Muslim League were dismayed by the suspension of the constitutionally obliged NFC Program. His critics and Muslim League leaders observed that with the suspension of the NFC Award Program, Suhrawardy tried to give more financial allocations, aids, grants, and opportunities to East Pakistan than West Pakistan, including West Pakistan's four provinces. During the last days of his Prime ministerial years, Suhrawardy tried to remove the economic disparity between the Eastern and Western wings of the country but to no avail. He also tried unsuccessfully to alleviate the food shortage in the country.<ref>{{Cite web |last=admin |date=1 July 2003 |title=H. S. Suhrawardy Becomes Prime Minister |url=https://storyofpakistan.com/h-s-suhrawardy-becomes-prime-minister/ |access-date=2023-01-27 |website=Story Of Pakistan |language=en-US |archive-date=27 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127180629/https://storyofpakistan.com/h-s-suhrawardy-becomes-prime-minister/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Suhrawardy strengthened relations with the United States by reinforcing Pakistani membership in the Central Treaty Organization and the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization. Suhrawardy also promoted relations with the People's Republic of China.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, China, Volume III - Office of the Historian |url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1955-57v03/d220 |access-date=27 January 2023 |website=history.state.gov |archive-date=27 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127180430/https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1955-57v03/d220 |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Era of Ayub Khan=== [[File:Queenelizabeth-chittagongG1.jpg|thumb|Elizabeth II, seen here visiting Chittagong in 1961, was Pakistan's Queen until 1956.]]
In 1958, President Iskandar Mirza enacted martial law as part of a military coup by the Pakistan Army's chief Ayub Khan. Roughly after two weeks, President Mirza's relations with Pakistan Armed Forces deteriorated leading Army Commander General Ayub Khan relieving the president from his presidency and forcefully exiling President Mirza to the United Kingdom. General Ayub Khan justified his actions after appearing on national radio declaring that: "the armed forces and the people demanded a clean break with the past...". Until 1962, the martial law continued while Field Marshal Ayub Khan purged a number of politicians and civil servants from the government and replaced them with military officers. Ayub called his regime a "revolution to clean up the mess of black marketing and corruption". Khan replaced Mirza as president and became the country's strongman for eleven years. Martial law continued until 1962 when the government of Field Marshal Ayub Khan commissioned a constitutional bench under Chief Justice of Pakistan Muhammad Shahabuddin, composed of ten senior justices, each five from East Pakistan and five from West Pakistan. On 6 May 1961, the commission sent its draft to President Ayub Khan. He thoroughly examined the draft while consulting with his cabinet.
In January 1962, the cabinet finally approved the text of the new constitution, promulgated by President Ayub Khan on 1 March 1962, which came into effect on 8 June 1962. Under the 1962 constitution, Pakistan became a presidential republic. Universal suffrage was abolished in favour of a system dubbed 'Basic Democracy'. Under the system, an electoral college would be responsible for electing the president and national assembly. The 1962 constitution created a gubernatorial system in West and East Pakistan. Each province ran its own separate provincial gubernatorial governments. The constitution defined a division of powers between the central government and the provinces. Fatima Jinnah received strong support in East Pakistan during her failed bid to unseat Ayub Khan in the 1965 presidential election.
Dacca was declared as the ''second capital'' of Pakistan in 1962. It was designated as the legislative capital and Louis Kahn was tasked with designing a national assembly complex. Dacca's population increased in the 1960s. Seven natural gas fields were tapped in the province. The petroleum industry developed as the Eastern Refinery was established in the port city of Chittagong.
===Six Points=== [[File:Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Announcing 6 Points At Lahore.jpg|thumb|Sheikh Mujibur Rahman announcing the Six Points]]
In 1966, Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman announced the six-point movement in Lahore. The movement demanded greater provincial autonomy and the restoration of democracy in Pakistan. Mujib-ur-Rahman was indicted for treason during the Agartala Conspiracy Case after launching the six-point movement. He was later released in the 1969 uprising in East Pakistan. Ayub Khan resigned in March 1969. Below includes the historical six points:<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-16 |title=All you need to know about the Six-Point Movement in East Pakistan |url=https://cri.org.bd/2021/06/16/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-six-point-movement-in-east-pakistan/ |access-date=2023-12-19 |website=Centre for Research and Information |language=en-US}}</ref>
{{blockquote| * The Constitution should provide for a Federation of Pakistan in its true sense based on the Lahore Resolution, and the parliamentary form of government with supremacy of a Legislature directly elected on the basis of universal adult franchise. * The federal government should deal with only two subjects: Defence and Foreign Affairs, and all other residual subjects should be vested in the federating states. * Two separate, but freely convertible currencies for two wings should be introduced; or if this is not feasible, there should be one currency for the whole country, but effective constitutional provisions should be introduced to stop the flight of capital from East to West Pakistan. Furthermore, a separate Banking Reserve should be established and separate fiscal and monetary policy be adopted for East Pakistan. * The power of taxation and revenue collection should be vested in the federating units and the federal centre would have no such power. The federation would be entitled to a share in the state taxes to meet its expenditures. * There should be two separate accounts for the foreign exchange earnings of the two wings; the foreign exchange requirements of the federal government should be met by the two wings equally or in a ratio to be fixed; indigenous products should move free of duty between the two wings, and the constitution should empower the units to establish trade links with foreign countries. * East Pakistan should have a separate military or paramilitary force, and Navy headquarters should be in East Pakistan.}}
===Final years=== thumb|Surrender of Pakistan in December 1971 Muhammad Ayub Khan was replaced by general Yahya Khan who became the Chief Martial Law Administrator. Khan organised the 1970 Pakistani general election. The 1970 Bhola cyclone was one of the deadliest natural disasters of the 20th century. The cyclone claimed half a million lives. The disastrous effects of the cyclone caused huge resentment against the federal government. After a decade of military rule, East Pakistan was a hotbed of Bengali nationalism. There were open calls for self-determination.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1971: Bangladesh's "Liberation War" |url=https://www.workersliberty.org/story/2022-01-18/1971-bangladeshs-liberation-war |access-date=11 August 2022 |website=Workers' Liberty |date= 18 January 2022 |first1=Sacha |last1=Ismail |language=en |url-status=live |archive-url= https://archive.today/20240624235239/https://www.workersliberty.org/story/2022-01-18/1971-bangladeshs-liberation-war |archive-date= 24 June 2024 }}</ref>
When the federal general election was held, the Awami League emerged as the single largest party in the Pakistani parliament. The League won 167 out of 169 seats in East Pakistan, thereby crossing the half way mark of 150 in the 300-seat National Assembly of Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Huda |first=Muhammad Nurul |date=23 June 2020 |title=71 years of Awami League |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/straight-line/news/71-years-awami-league-1918781 |access-date=5 June 2024 |work=The Daily Star |type=Opinion |language=en}}</ref> In theory, this gave the League the right to form a government under the Westminster tradition. But the League failed to win a single seat in West Pakistan, where the Pakistan Peoples Party emerged as the single largest party with 81 seats. The military junta stalled the transfer of power and conducted prolonged negotiations with the League. A civil disobedience movement erupted across East Pakistan demanding the convening of parliament. Mujib-ur- Rahman announced a struggle for independence from Pakistan during a speech on 7 March 1971 and called for a non-cooperation movement from the Bengali populace. Between 7–26 March, East Pakistan was virtually under the popular control of the Awami League. On Pakistan's Republic Day on 23 March 1971, the first flag of Bangladesh was hoisted in many East Pakistani households. Pakistan Army was ordered to immediately launch a crackdown on 26 March whose purpose was to curb the resistance, some of these operations include Operation Searchlight<ref>{{Cite Banglapedia|article=Operation Searchlight}}</ref> and the 1971 Dhaka University massacre.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 February 2023 |title=The Past has yet to Leave the Present: Genocide in Bangladesh |url=https://hir.harvard.edu/the-past-has-yet-to-leave-the-present-genocide-in-bangladesh/ |access-date=5 June 2024 |website=Harvard International Review |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=25 March 2022 |title='Operation Searchlight' opened gates of hell: Pakistan Major |url=https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/operation-searchlight-opened-gates-of-hell-pakistan-major |access-date=5 June 2024 |work=Prothom Alo |language=en |agency=Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha}}</ref> This led to the Bangladeshi Declaration of Independence.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ahmad |first=Mohiuddin |date=26 March 2024 |title=Our Independence Day |url=https://en.prothomalo.com/opinion/op-ed/9gismb3shd |access-date=5 June 2024 |work=Prothom Alo |language=en}}</ref>
As the Bangladesh Liberation War and the 1971 Bangladesh genocide continued for nine months, East Pakistani military units like the East Bengal Regiment and the East Pakistan Rifles defected and formed the Bangladesh Forces. The Provisional Government of Bangladesh allied with neighbouring India which intervened in the final two weeks of the war and secured the surrender of Pakistan's eastern command.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 December 2023 |title=Vijay Diwas: How India won the 1971 War in under two weeks |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-history/vijay-diwas-1971-war-india-pakistan-bangladesh-9070725/ |access-date=5 June 2024 |work=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Boissoneault |first1=Lorraine |title=The Genocide the U.S. Can't Remember, But Bangladesh Can't Forget |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/genocide-us-cant-remember-bangladesh-cant-forget-180961490/ |access-date=5 June 2024 |magazine=Smithsonian |language=en}}</ref>
====Role of the Pakistani military==== With Ayub Khan ousted from office in 1969, Commander of the Pakistani Army, General Yahya Khan became the country's second ruling chief martial law administrator. Both Bhutto and Mujib strongly disliked General Khan, but patiently endured him and his government as he had promised to hold an election in 1970. During this time, strong nationalistic sentiments in East Pakistan were perceived by the Pakistani Armed Forces and the central military government. Therefore, Khan and his military government wanted to divert the nationalistic threats and violence against non-East Pakistanis. The Eastern Command was under constant pressure from the Awami League and requested an active-duty officer to control the command under such extreme pressure. The high flag rank officers, junior officers, and many high command officers from Pakistan's Armed Forces were highly cautious about their appointment in East-Pakistan, and the assignment of governing East Pakistan and appointment of an officer was considered highly difficult for the Pakistan High Military Command.
[[File:Yahya and Nixon.jpg|left|thumb|Third president of Pakistan, Yahya Khan, with Richard Nixon in 1970]] [[File:Zulfikar Ali Bhutto 1971.jpg|thumb|Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1971]]
The tense relations between East and West Pakistan reached a climax in 1970 when the Awami League, the largest East Pakistani political party, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, (Mujib), won a landslide victory in the national elections in East Pakistan. The party won 160 of the 162 seats allotted to East Pakistan, and thus a majority of the 300 seats in the Parliament. This gave the Awami League the constitutional right to form a government without forming a coalition with any other party. Khan invited Mujib to Rawalpindi to take the charge of the office, and negotiations took place between the military government and the Awami Party. Bhutto was shocked with the results and threatened his fellow Peoples Party members if they attended the inaugural session at the National Assembly, famously saying he would "break the legs" of any member of his party who dared enter and attend the session. However, fearing East Pakistani separatism, Bhutto demanded Mujib to form a coalition government. After a secret meeting held in Larkana, Mujib agreed to give Bhutto the office of the presidency with Mujib as prime minister. General Yahya Khan and his military government were kept unaware of these developments and under pressure from his own military government, refused to allow Mujib-ur-Rahman to become the prime minister of Pakistan. This increased agitation for greater autonomy in East Pakistan. The military police arrested Mujib and Bhutto and placed them in Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. The news spread like a fire in both East and West Pakistan, and the struggle for independence began in East Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dummett |first=Mark |date=16 December 2011 |title=Bangladesh war: The article that changed history |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16207201 |access-date=12 June 2022 |work=BBC News |archive-date=8 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508091712/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16207201 |url-status=live }}</ref>
The senior high command officers in Pakistan Armed Forces, and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, began to pressure General Yahya Khan to take armed action against Mujib and his party. Bhutto later distanced himself from Yahya Khan after he was arrested by Military Police along with Mujib. Soon after the arrests, a high-level meeting was chaired by Yahya Khan. During the meeting, high commanders of the Pakistan Armed Forces unanimously recommended an armed and violent military action. East Pakistan's Martial Law Administrator Admiral Ahsan, Governor of East Pakistan, and Air Commodore Zafar Masud, Air Officer Commanding of Dacca's only airbase, were the only officers to object to the plans. When it became obvious that military action in East Pakistan was inevitable, Admiral Ahsan resigned from his position as martial law administrator in protest, and immediately flew back to Karachi, West Pakistan. Disheartened and isolated, Admiral Ahsan took early retirement from the Navy and quietly settled in Karachi. Once Operation Searchlight and Operation Barisal commenced, Air Marshal Masud flew to West Pakistan, and unlike Admiral Ahsan, tried to stop the violence in East Pakistan. When he failed in his attempts to meet General Yahya Khan, Masud too resigned from his position as AOC of Dacca airbase and took retirement from Air Force.
Lieutenant-General Sahibzada Yaqub Khan was sent into East Pakistan in an emergency, following a major blow of the resignation of Vice Admiral Ahsan. General Yaqub temporarily assumed the control of the province, he was also made the corps-commander of Eastern Corps. General Yaqub mobilised the entire major forces in East Pakistan.
Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman made a declaration of independence at Dacca on 26 March 1971. All major Awami League leaders including elected leaders of the National Assembly and Provincial Assembly fled to neighbouring India and an exile government was formed headed by Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman. While he was in a Pakistan prison, Syed Nazrul Islam was the acting president with Tajuddin Ahmed as the prime minister. The exile government took oath on 17 April 1971 at Mujib Nagar, within East Pakistan territory of Kushtia district, and formally formed the government. Colonel MOG Osmani was appointed the Commander in Chief of Liberation Forces and whole East Pakistan was divided into eleven sectors headed by eleven sector commanders. All sector commanders were Bengali officers who had defected from the Pakistan Army. This started the nine-month long Bangladesh Liberation War in which the freedom fighters, joined in December 1971 by 400,000 Indian soldiers, faced the Pakistani Armed Forces of 365,000 plus paramilitary and collaborationist forces. An additional approximately 25,000 ill-equipped civilian volunteers and police forces also sided with the Pakistan Armed Forces. Bloody guerrilla warfare ensued in East Pakistan.
The Pakistan Armed Forces were unable to counter such threats. With no intel and low morale, they performed poorly and were inexperienced in guerrilla tactics, Pakistan Armed Forces and their assets were defeated by the Bangladesh Liberation Forces. In April 1971, Lieutenant-General Tikka Khan succeeded General Yaqub Khan as the Corps Commander. General Tikka Khan led the massive violent and massacre campaigns in the region. He is held responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of Bengali people in East Pakistan, mostly civilians and unarmed peoples. For his role, General Tikka Khan gained the title of "Butcher of Bengal". General Khan faced an international reaction against Pakistan, and therefore, General Tikka was removed as Commander of the Eastern front. He installed a civilian administration under Abdul Motaleb Malik on 31 August 1971, which proved to be ineffective. However, during the meeting, with no high officers willing to assume the command of East Pakistan, Lieutenant-General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi volunteered for the command of East Pakistan. Inexperienced and the large magnitude of this assignment, the government sent Rear-Admiral Mohammad Shariff as Flag Officer Commanding of Eastern Naval Command (Pakistan). Admiral Shariff served as the deputy of General Niazi when doing joint military operations. However, General Niazi proved to be a failure and ineffective ruler. Therefore, General Niazi and Air Commodore Inamul Haque Khan, AOC, PAF Base Dacca, failed to launch any operation in East Pakistan against Indian or its allies. Except for Admiral Shariff who continued to keep pressure on the Indian Navy until the end of the conflict. Admiral Shariff's effective plans made it nearly impossible for the Indian Navy to land its naval forces on the shores of East Pakistan. The Indian Navy was unable to land forces in East Pakistan and the Pakistan Navy was still offering resistance. The Indian Army, entered East Pakistan from all three directions of the province. The Indian Navy then decided to wait near the Bay of Bengal until the Army reached the shore.
The Indian Air Force dismantled the capability of the Pakistan Air Force in East Pakistan. Air Commodore Inamul Haque Khan, Dacca airbase's AOC, failed to offer any serious resistance to the actions of the Indian Air Force. For the most part of the war, the IAF enjoyed complete dominance in the skies over East Pakistan.
On 16 December 1971, the Pakistan Armed Forces surrendered to the joint liberation forces of Mukti Bahini and the Indian Army, headed by Lieutenant-General Jagjit Singh Arora, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Eastern Command of the Indian Army. Lieutenant General AAK Niazi, the last corps commander of Eastern Corps, signed the Instrument of Surrender at about 4:31 pm. Over 93,000 personnel, including Lt. General Niazi and Admiral Shariff, were taken as prisoners of war.
On 16 December 1971, the territory of East Pakistan was handed over to the Indian Army under the surrender agreement from West Pakistan and in the Simla Agreement became the newly independent state of Bangladesh. The Eastern Command, civilian institutions, and paramilitary forces were disbanded in the following months.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}
==Geography== In contrast to the desert and rugged mountainous terrain of West Pakistan, East Pakistan featured the world's largest delta, 700 rivers, and tropical hilly jungles. The Chittagong Division of East Pakistan was home to hill ranges and forests (mainly in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and Sylhet). The Khulna Division and parts of the Dacca and Chittagong Divisions were largely Deltaic. East Pakistan was almost entirely an alluvial plain which consists of lower course of the Padma and Jamuna. Climatically, East Pakistan was essentially humid, hot climate with heavy to very heavy rainfall. The implication of East Pakistan's heavy rainfall was that the main crops that were grown in East Pakistan were rice, tea, and jute.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ahmad |first=Kazi S. |title=A Geography of Pakistan |publisher=Pakistan Branch, Oxford University Press |year=1969 |edition=2nd |location=Karachi}}</ref>
===Administrative geography=== East Pakistan inherited 17 districts from British Bengal.
In 1960, Lower Tippera was renamed Comilla.
In 1969, two new districts were created with Tangail separated from Mymensingh and Patuakhali from Bakerganj.
East Pakistan's districts are listed in the following. thumb|400px|East and West Pakistan thumb|Provincial Map of East Pakistan, 1962
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |- ! scope="col"| Division ! scope="col"| East Pakistani District ! scope="col"| Current Bangladeshi Districts |- | rowspan="4" scope="row" | Dacca Division | Dacca District | Dhaka Division (without Greater Faridpur) |- | Faridpur District | Greater Faridpur |- | Mymensingh District | Mymensingh Division and Kishoreganj |- | Tangail District | Tangail (Part of Greater Mymensingh) |- | rowspan="5" scope="row" | Chittagong Division | Hill Tracts District | Chittagong Hill Tracts |- | Chittagong District | Chittagong, Cox's Bazar |- | Comilla (Lower Tippera) District | Comilla, Chandpur, Brahmanbaria |- | Noakhali District | Noakhali, Feni, Lakshmipur |- | Sylhet District | Sylhet, Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Sunamganj |- | rowspan="5" scope="row" | Rajshahi Division | Bogra District | Bogra, Joypurhat |- | Dinajpur District | Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Panchagarh |- | Rajshahi District | Rajshahi, Nawabganj, Natore, Naogaon |- | Rangpur District | Rangpur Division (without Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Panchagarh) |- | Pabna District | Pabna, Sirajganj |- | rowspan="5" scope="row" | Khulna Division | Bakerganj District | Barisal, Jhalokati, Pirojpur |- | Jessore District | Jessore, Jhenaidah, Narail, Magura |- | Khulna District | Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat |- | Kushtia District | Kushtia, Meherpur, Chuadanga |- | Patuakhali District | Patuakhali, Barguna, Bhola |- |}
==Economy== [[File:Kaptai Dam 1965.jpg|thumb|left|The Kaptai Dam in 1965]] thumb|1971 documentary film about East Pakistan [[File:Ayub Khan & A K Khan.jpg|thumb|President Ayub Khan (left) with Bengali industrialist Abul Kashem Khan (right) in Chittagong]] [[File:Adamjee Jute Mills Entrance 1950.gif|thumb|Entrance to the Adamjee Jute Mills, the world's largest jute processing plant, in 1950]] At the time of the Partition of British India, East Bengal had a plantation economy. The Chittagong Tea Auction was established in 1949 as the region was home to the world's largest tea plantations. The East Pakistan Stock Exchange Association was established in 1954. Many wealthy Muslim immigrants from India, Burma, and former British colonies settled in East Pakistan. The Ispahani family, Africawala brothers, and the Adamjee family were pioneers of industrialisation in the region. Many of modern Bangladesh's leading companies were born in the East Pakistan period.
An airline founded in British Bengal, Orient Airways, launched the vital air link between East and West Pakistan with DC-3 aircraft on the Dacca-Calcutta-Delhi-Karachi route. Orient Airways later evolved into Pakistan International Airlines, whose first chairman was the East Pakistan-based industrialist Mirza Ahmad Ispahani.
By the 1950s, East Bengal surpassed West Bengal in having the largest jute industries in the world. The Adamjee Jute Mills was the largest jute processing plant in history and its location in Narayanganj was nicknamed the ''Dundee of the East''. The Adamjees were descendants of Sir Haji Adamjee Dawood, who made his fortune in British Burma.
Natural gas was discovered in the northeastern part of East Pakistan in 1955 by the Burmah Oil Company. Industrial use of natural gas began in 1959. The Shell Oil Company and Pakistan Petroleum tapped 7 gas fields in the 1960s. The industrial seaport city of Chittagong hosted the headquarters of Burmah Eastern and Pakistan National Oil. Iran, an erstwhile leading oil producer, assisted in establishing the Eastern Refinery in Chittagong.
The Comilla Model of the Pakistan Academy for Rural Development (present-day Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development) was conceived by Akhtar Hameed Khan and replicated in many developing countries.
In 1965, Pakistan implemented the Kaptai Dam hydroelectric project in the southeastern part of East Pakistan with American assistance. It was the sole hydroelectric dam in East Pakistan. The project was controversial for displacing over 40,000 indigenous people from the area.
The centrally located metropolis Dacca witnessed significant urban growth.
<gallery> Central Dacca in East Pakistan.jpg|Central business district in Dacca, 1960s Chittagong port 1960.jpg|Chittagong Port in 1960 Dacca East Pakistan 1967.jpg|Baitul Mukarram Market Area, Dacca, 1967 East Pakistan Emblem (1956-1970).svg|Emblem of East Pakistan till 1970 Pakistani rupee pre-1971.jpg|Pakistani banknotes included Bengali script until 1971. East Pakistan helicopter poster.jpg|A poster of the East Pakistan Helicopter Service Stamp of New Dacca Railway Station.jpg|Pakistani Postage stamp issued on the occasion of first anniversary of New Railway Station—Dacca in 1969 </gallery>
===Economic discrimination and disparity=== Although, East Pakistan had a larger population, West Pakistan dominated the divided country politically and received more money from the common budget. According to the World Bank, there was much economic discrimination against East Pakistan, including higher government spending on West Pakistan, financial transfers from East to West, and the use of the East's foreign exchange surpluses to finance the West's imports.
The discrimination occurred despite the fact that East Pakistan generated a major share of Pakistan's exports.
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0 auto; width:550px;text-align:center;"
|-
!width=16%| Year
!width=28%| Spending on West Pakistan (in millions of Pakistani rupees)
!width=28%| Spending on East Pakistan (in millions of Pakistani rupees)
!width=28%| Amount spent on East as percentage of West
|-
| 1950–55 || style="text-align:right;"| 11,290 || style="text-align:right;"| 5,240 || style="text-align:right;"| 46.4
|-
| 1955–60 || style="text-align:right;"| 16,550 || style="text-align:right;"| 5,240 || style="text-align:right;"| 31.7
|-
| 1960–65|| style="text-align:right;"|33,550 ||align="right"| 14,040 || style="text-align:right;"| 41.8
|-
| 1965–70 ||align="right"|51,950 ||align="right"| 21,410 || style="text-align:right;"| 41.2
|-
| '''Total''' ||align="right"|'''113,340''' ||align="right"| '''45,930''' || style="text-align:right;"| '''40.5'''
|-
| colspan="4" | <small>''Source: Reports of the Advisory Panels for the Fourth Five Year Plan 1970–75, Vol. I,<br /> published by the planning commission of Pakistan.''</small>
|}
The annual rate of growth of the gross domestic product per capita was 4.4% in West Pakistan versus 2.6% in East Pakistan from 1960 to 1965. Bengali politicians pushed for more autonomy, arguing that much of Pakistan's export earnings were generated in East Pakistan from the exportation of Bengali jute and tea. As late as 1960, approximately 70% of Pakistan's export earnings originated in East Pakistan, although this percentage declined as international demand for jute dwindled. By the mid-1960s, East Pakistan was accounting for less than 60% of the nation's export earnings, and by the time Bangladesh gained its independence in 1971, this percentage had dipped below 50%. In 1966, Mujib demanded that separate foreign exchange accounts be kept and that separate trade offices be opened overseas. By the mid-1960s, West Pakistan was benefiting from Ayub's "Decade of Progress" with its successful Green Revolution in wheat and from the expansion of markets for West Pakistani textiles, while East Pakistan's standard of living remained at an abysmally low level. Bengalis were also upset that West Pakistan, the seat of the national government, received more foreign aid. However, East Pakistan did nonetheless benefit from industrialisation and development, which was discerned by the Kaptai Dam in the Chittagong Hill Tracts for instance.
Economists in East Pakistan argued a "Two Economies Theory" within Pakistan itself, which was founded on the Two-Nation Theory with India. The so-called Two Economies Theory suggested that East and West Pakistan had different economic features which should not be regulated by a federal government in Islamabad.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.epw.in/journal/2016/28/book-reviews/birth-bangladesh.html |title=Birth of Bangladesh |date=5 June 2015 |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=51 |issue=28 |access-date=2 July 2017 |archive-date=19 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171219111615/http://www.epw.in/journal/2016/28/book-reviews/birth-bangladesh.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Demographics and culture== [[File:TheDailyIttefaq.png|thumb|''The Daily Ittefaq'', edited by Tofazzal Hossain, was the leading Bengali newspaper in Pakistan.]] thumb|The first Bangladeshi flag was hoisted on 23 March 1971 across East Pakistan, as a protest on Republic Day. East Pakistan was home to 55% of Pakistan's population. The largest ethnic group of the province were Bengalis, who in turn were the largest ethnic group in Pakistan. Bengali Muslims formed the predominant majority, followed by Bengali Hindus, Bengali Buddhists and Bengali Christians. East Pakistan also had many tribal groups, including the Chakmas, Marmas, Tangchangyas, Tripuris, Garos, Manipuris, Santhals and Bawms. They largely followed the religions of Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism. East Pakistan was home to immigrant Muslims from across the Indian subcontinent, including West Bengal, Bihar, Sindh, Gujarat, the Northwest Frontier Province, Assam, Orissa, the Punjab and Kerala. A small Armenian and Jewish minority resided in East Pakistan.
The Asiatic Society of Pakistan was founded in Old Dacca by Ahmad Hasan Dani in 1948. The Bangla Academy was established in 1954.
Among East Pakistan's newspapers, ''The Daily Ittefaq'' was the leading Bengali language title; while ''Holiday'' was a leading English title.
At the time of partition, East Bengal had 80 cinemas. The first movie produced in East Pakistan was The Face and the Mask in 1955. Pakistan Television established its second studio in Dacca after Lahore in 1965. Runa Laila was Pakistan's first pop star and became popular in India as well. Shabnam was a leading actress from East Pakistan. Feroza Begum was a leading exponent of Bengali classical Nazrul geeti. Jasimuddin and Abbasuddin Ahmed promoted Bengali folk music. Munier Chowdhury, Syed Mujtaba Ali, Nurul Momen, Sufia Kamal and Shamsur Rahman were among the leading literary figures in East Pakistan. Several East Pakistanis were awarded the Sitara-e-Imtiaz and the Pride of Performance.
===Religion===
{{Pie chart |thumb = right |caption = Religion in Pakistan (1951 Official Census)<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=lsi.gov.in:8081/jspui/bitstream/123456789/7452/1/1422_1951_POP.pdf |archive-date=9 March 2021| url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309190410/http://lsi.gov.in:8081/jspui/bitstream/123456789/7452/1/1422_1951_POP.pdf}}</ref> |label1 = Islam |value1 = 85.9 |color1 = Darkgreen |label2 = Hinduism |value2 = 12.9 <!-- 5.7% Hindu (Jati) 7.2% Hindu (scheduled castes) --> |color2 = DarkOrange |label3 = Christianity |value3 = 0.7 |color3 = Dodgerblue |label4 = Other |value4 = 0.5 |color4 = Grey }}
{{Pie chart | thumb = right | caption = Religion in East Pakistan (1951 Census)<ref name="auto"/> | label1 = Islam | value1 = 76.8 | color1 = DarkGreen | label2 = Hinduism | value2 = 22 | color2 = DarkOrange | label3 = Christianity | value3 = 0.3 | color3 = Dodgerblue | label4 = Others | value4 = 0.9 | color4 = Grey }} As per the 1951 census, East Pakistan had a population of 44,251,826 people, of which 76.9% (~34,029,654) followed Islam, 22.0% (~9,735,402) people followed Hinduism and 1.1% (~486,770) people followed other religions: Buddhism, Christianity and Animism.<ref name="bangla">{{Cite web |url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Population |title=Population |website=Banglapedia |access-date=10 September 2021 |archive-date=1 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401041939/https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Population |url-status=live |date=17 June 2021}}</ref> According to the 1961 census, Muslims made up 80.4% of the population, Hindus were 18.4%, and the remaining 1.2% belonged to other religions, mainly Christianity and Buddhism.<ref name="D'Costa2011">{{citation|last=D'Costa|first=Bina|title=Nationbuilding, Gender and War Crimes in South Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ivzKjY5LncIC&pg=PA100|pages=100–|year=2011|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-56566-0}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sanaullah |first=M. |date=1962 |title=Second and Third Release from the Second Population Census of Pakistan, 1961 |url=https://thepdr.pk/index.php/pdr/article/view/32/32 |journal=The Pakistan Development Review |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=106–113 |doi=10.30541/v2i1pp.106-113 |doi-broken-date=8 December 2025 |jstor=41258062 |issn=0030-9729 |doi-access=free |access-date=6 December 2025 }}</ref>
==Military== {{Main|Eastern Command (Pakistan)|East Bengal Regiment|Border Guard Bangladesh#Pakistan|East Pakistan Civil Armed Force|l3 = East Pakistan Rifles}}
=== Strength === [[File:India Bangladesh border US Army Map Service.jpg|right|thumb|The Indo-East Pakistan border as shown by the U.S. Army, c. 1960]] Since its unification with Pakistan, the East Pakistan Army had consisted of only 1 infantry brigade made up of two battalions, the 1st East Bengal Regiment and the 1/14 or 3/8 Punjab Regiment in 1948. These two battalions fielded only five rifle companies between them (an infantry battalion normally had five companies).<ref>Major Nasir Uddin, Juddhey Juddhey Swadhinata, pp49</ref> This weak brigade was under the command of Brigadier Ayub Khan (acting Major-General – GOC of 14th Army Division), together with the East Pakistan Rifles, which was tasked with defending East Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.<ref>Major Nasir Uddin, Juddhey Juddhey Swadhinata, pp47, pp51</ref> The East Pakistan Army had barely 150,000 troops (50,000-70,000 regular soldiers) at its peak despite needing at least 250,000 personals to act strongly in any major armed conflict.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Muktijuddho (Bangladesh Liberation War 1971) - attack on East Pakistan Rifles (EPR) - History of Bangladesh |url=https://www.londoni.co/index.php/history?id=116 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250423022740/https://www.londoni.co/index.php/history?id=116 |archive-date=2025-04-23 |access-date=2026-03-02 |website=www.londoni.co |language=en-gb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Siddiq Salik |url=http://archive.org/details/Witness-to-Surrender-Siddiq-Salik-Bangla-V1 |title=Witness To Surrender - Siddiq Salik (Bangla Version-1)}}</ref>The military was composed with estimated 6,000 personals from East Bengal Regiment divided in six battalions. The paramilitary East Pakistan Rifles (EPR) was built with around 12,000-15,000 personals on duty.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Palit |first=d k |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.111545 |title=The Lightning Campaign The Indo Pakistan War 1971 |date=1965}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=1971: The blitzkrieg in East Pakistan – I By Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh {{!}} সংগ্রামের নোটবুক |url=https://songramernotebook.com/archives/367906 |access-date=2026-03-02 |language=en-US}}</ref> However, during the 1971 civil war, East Pakistan Civil Armed Force (EPCAF) was created to replace EPR and it had 23,000-25,000 personals where it was divided into at least seventeen wings. EPCAF also had additional 17 planes.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=লে. জে. এ. এ. কে. নিয়াজি |url=http://archive.org/details/the-betrayal-of-east-pakistan |title=দ্য বিট্রেয়াল অভ ইস্ট পাকিস্তান - লে. জে. এ. এ. কে. নিয়াজি}}</ref>
The PAF, Marines, and the Navy had little presence in the region. Only 1 PAF combatant squadron, ''No. 14 Squadron Tail Choppers'', was active in East Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Airforce |first=Pakistan |date=2022 |title=History of Pakistan Air Force (1947-1971) |url=https://paf.gov.pk/#/history |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826081717/https://paf.gov.pk/#/history |archive-date=2022-08-26 |access-date=2026-03-03 |website=paf.gov.pk |language=en}}</ref> This combatant squadron was commanded by Squadron Leader Parvaiz Mehdi Qureshi, who later became a four-star general. The army also had only 15 combat aircraft along with EPCAF's 17 planes to thwart any Indian retaliations during the 1965 war and 1971 war.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jahan |first=Rounaq |url=http://archive.org/details/pakistanfailurei0000jaha |title=Pakistan: failure in national integration |date=1972 |publisher=New York, Columbia University Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-231-03625-2}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> The East Pakistan military personnel were trained in combat diving, demolitions, and guerrilla/anti-guerrilla tactics by the advisers from the Special Service Group (Navy), who were also charged with intelligence data collection and management cycle. The East Pakistan Navy had only 1 active-duty combatant destroyer, the PNS ''Sylhet'' along with 1 submarine ''PNS Ghazi'' (which was repeatedly deployed in the West), 4 gunboats which were inadequate to function in deep water.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Real story of submarine PNS Ghazi and the mystery behind its sinking - Looking back |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nation-world/real-story-of-submarine-pns-ghazi-and-the-mystery-behind-its-sinking/many-objections/slideshow/56085882.cms |access-date=2026-03-03 |website=The Economic Times |language=en}}</ref> The joint special operations were managed and undertaken by the Naval Special Service Group (SSG(N)) who was assisted by the army, air force, and marines unit. The entire service, the Marines were deployed in East Pakistan, initially tasked with conducting exercises and combat operations in riverine areas and at the near shoreline. The small directorate of Naval Intelligence (while the headquarters and personnel, facilities, and directions were coordinated by West) had a vital role in directing special and reconnaissance missions, and intelligence gathering also was charged with taking reasonable actions to slow down the Indian threat. The armed forces of East Pakistan also consisted of the paramilitary organisation, the ''Razakars'' from the intelligence unit of the ISI's Covert Action Division (CAD).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gazette |first=The Dacca |title=The East Pakistan Razakars Ordinance, 1971, An Ordinance |url=http://www.icsforum.org/library/files/420_GovernmentofEastPakistan1971.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004235644/http://www.icsforum.org/library/files/420_GovernmentofEastPakistan1971.pdf |archive-date=2013-10-04 |access-date=2026-03-03 |website=www.icsforum.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Moore |first=Raymond A. |date=1969 |title=Military Nation-Building in Pakistan and India |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20671117 |journal=World Affairs |volume=132 |issue=3 |pages=219–234 |issn=0043-8200 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260306055110/https://www.jstor.org/stable/20671117 |archive-date=6 March 2026}}</ref>
Despite the racial discrimination by Pakistani army who under-represented Bengalis in the Pakistan military in the name of ethnic superiority, many Bengali officers could still be notably praised and awarded for there service for the Republic of Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite web |last=NDC |first=Brigadier General (retd) Md Bayezid Sarwar |date=2025-09-26 |title=Heroic deeds of Bengali soldiers in 1965 India-Pakistan war |url=https://viewsbangladesh.com/heroic-deeds-of-bengali-soldiers-in-1965-indiapakistan-war/ |access-date=2026-03-06 |website=Views Bangladesh |language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251116030629/https://viewsbangladesh.com/heroic-deeds-of-bengali-soldiers-in-1965-indiapakistan-war/|archive-date=16 November 2025}}</ref> Notable military officers like M.A.G. Osmani (received Tamgha-e-Jang 1965 War, Tamgha-e-Jamhuria, Pakistan Tamgha), Ziaur Rahman ( received Hilal-i-Jur'at), Saiful Azam (received Sitara-e-Jurat), Mohammad Ishfaqul Mazid, Shafaat Jamil, Khaled Mosharraf, Mahmudur Rahman Majumdar, Sayed Farooq-ur-Rahman, Mohammad Ziauddin (officer).
=== Engagements ===
* 1958 Pakistan-India border skirmishes * 1965 India–Pakistan War * 1969 East Pakistan mass uprising * Bangladesh Liberation War
==== Battles ==== {{Main|Indo-Pakistani air war of 1965|Timeline of Bangladesh Liberation War}}
'''1965 India–Pakistan War'''
* List of aerial victories during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965
'''Bangladesh Liberation War''' * India–Pakistan naval fights of 1971 **Operation Jackpot
* Nakshi Border Outpost Attack
* Battle at Ghashipur * Battle of Dhalai * Operation Cactus Lilly * Battle of Garibpur * Battle of Sylhet * Battle of Gazipur * East Pakistan Air Operations ** Operation Kilo Flight ** Tangail Airdrop * Battle of Boyra * Battle of Hilli * Battle of Kushtia * Battle of Shiromoni * Operation Barisal * First Battle of Kamalpur * Second Battle of Kamalpur
* Bangladesh Genocide ** Operation Searchlight ** 1971 killing of Bengali intellectuals
== Governors == '''Political Party'''{{Legend|{{party color|Pakistan Muslim League}}|Muslim League}} {{Legend|{{party color|Krishak Sramik Party}}|Krishak Sramik Party}} {{Legend|gray|Independent}} {{Tree list}} *{{Legend|{{party color|military}}|Military Governor}} {{Tree list/end}}
'''Legend'''
{{Legend|#e6e6aa|Acting Governor}} {{Legend|pink|Functioned and exercised power as Governor by the order of president without being appointed as one}} {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" |+List of Governors of East Pakistan ! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" |# ! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" style="width:120px;"|Portrait ! rowspan="2" |Governor ! colspan="3" |Term of office ! rowspan="2" |Political Party ! rowspan="2" |President |- !Term start !Term end !Time in office |- | style="background-color:gray; color:white;" |'''[-]''' | style="background:#e6e6aa;" |164x164px | style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Justice Amiruddin Ahmad<br />(acting){{Efn|Justice Amiruddin Ahmad, Chief Justice of Dhaka High Court, was appointed acting Governor on the resignation of Justice Muhammad Shahabuddin}}
<small>(1895-1965)</small> | style="background:#e6e6aa;" |<small>As Governor of East Bengal:</small> {{Date table sorting|1955|6|14|}}<ref name=":83">{{Cite web |date=2013-04-25 |title=amiruddin - THE BANGABHABAN : The President House of Bangladesh |url=http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/amiruddin.html |access-date=2025-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425081002/http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/amiruddin.html |archive-date=25 April 2013 }}</ref> ----<small>As Governor of East Pakistan:</small> {{Date table sorting|1956|02|29||format=dmy}} | style="background:#e6e6aa;" |{{Date table sorting|1956|3|9||format=dmy}}<ref name=":83" /> | style="background:#e6e6aa;" |<small>As Governor of East Bengal:</small> {{ayd|1955|6|14|1956|2|29}} ----<small>As Governor of East Pakistan:</small> {{ayd|February 29, 1956|March 9, 1956}} ----<small>As Governor of Eastern Wing:</small> {{ayd|14 June 1955|March 9, 1956}} | style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Independent | rowspan="4" |Iskander Mirza |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Krishak Sramik Party}}; color:white" |1 |160x160px |''Sher-e-Bangla''<br />A. K. Fazlul Huq <small>(1873 - 1962)</small> |{{Date table sorting|1956|3|9||format=dmy}}<ref name=":92">{{Cite web |date=2013-04-25 |title=fazluhuq - THE BANGABHABAN : The President House of Bangladesh |url=http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/fazluhuq.html |access-date=2025-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425081037/http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/fazluhuq.html |archive-date=25 April 2013 }}</ref> |{{Date table sorting|1958|3|31||format=dmy}}{{Efn|President Iskander Mirza removed A. K. Fazlul Huq as governor on 31 March 1958 on the advice of the Noon cabinet for allegedly overstepping his limits as a constitutional Governor. Huq had dismissed Ataur Rahman's Ministry of Awami League that had not been defeated on the floor of the House, and had installed Mr. Abu Hussain Sarkar of his own party Krishak Sramik Party as Chief Minister.}}<ref name=":92" /><ref name=":252">{{Cite news |date=1 April 1958 |title=করাচীর নির্দেশে পূর্ব পাকিস্তানের গভার্নর মিঃ ফজলুল হকের নাটকীয়ভাবে পদচ্যুত |trans-title=Governor of East Pakistan Mr. Fazlul Haq Dramatically Removed by Orders from Karachi |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kQ3OY8vI16501RGOqqw5z8bUnCXil-vE/view |access-date=21 February 2025 |work=The Jugantor |pages=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250128040003/https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kQ3OY8vI16501RGOqqw5z8bUnCXil-vE/view |archive-date=28 January 2025 |language=Bengali}}</ref> |{{ayd|March 9, 1956|March 31, 1958}} |Krishak Sramik Party |- style="background:#e6e6aa;" ! style="background-color: gray; color:white" |'''[-]''' |156x156px |Muhammad Hamid Ali (acting){{Efn|Muhammad Hamid Ali, Chief Secretary to the Governor of East Pakistan, was appointed Acting Governor in pursuance of the provisions of Article 70 of the Constitution following the removal of Sher-e-Bangla A. K. Fazlul Huq from the office}}
<small>(1906-1972)</small> |{{Date table sorting|1958|4|1||format=dmy}}<ref name=":102">{{Cite web |date=2013-04-25 |title=hamidali - THE BANGABHABAN : The President House of Bangladesh |url=http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/hamidali.html |access-date=2025-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425081107/http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/hamidali.html |archive-date=25 April 2013 }}</ref><ref name=":252" /> |{{Date table sorting|1958|5|3||format=dmy}}<ref name=":102" /><ref name=":242">{{Cite news |date=3 May 1958 |title=পূর্ব পাকিস্তানের নয়া গভর্নর |trans-title=The New Governor of East Pakistan |url=https://songramernotebook.com/archives/248800 |work=The Azad |pages=1 |language=Bengali}}</ref> |{{ayd|April 1, 1958|3 May 1958}} |Independent |- ! style="background-color: gray; color:white" |2 |160x160px |Sultanuddin Ahmad <small>(1902-1977)</small> |<small>Appointment:</small><ref name=":112">{{Cite web |date=2013-04-25 |title=sultanuddin - THE BANGABHABAN : The President House of Bangladesh |url=http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/sultanuddin.html |access-date=2025-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425081237/http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/sultanuddin.html |archive-date=25 April 2013 }}</ref> {{Date table sorting|1958|4|26||format=dmy}} ----<small>Sworn in:<ref name=":112" /><ref name=":242" /></small> {{Date table sorting|1958|5|3||format=dmy}} |{{Date table sorting|1958|10|10||format=dmy}}{{Efn|Sultanuddin Ahmad was removed from office on 10 October 1958 soon after the promulgation of Martial Law in Pakistan on 7 October}}<ref name=":112" /><ref name=":1102">{{Cite news |date=12 October 1958 |title=Zakir Hussain installed as new governor |url=https://songramernotebook.com/archives/491801 |work=Bangladesh Observer (known as Pakistan Observer during Publication)}}</ref> |{{ayd|3 May 1958|10 October 1958}} |Independent |- ! style="background-color: gray; color:white" |3 |160x160px |Zakir Husain <small>(1898-1971)</small> |<small>Appointment:</small><ref name=":122">{{Cite web |date=2013-04-25 |title=zakirhusain - THE BANGABHABAN : The President House of Bangladesh |url=http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/zakirhusain.html |access-date=2025-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425081253/http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/zakirhusain.html |archive-date=25 April 2013 }}</ref> {{Date table sorting|1958|10|10||format=dmy}} ----<small>Sworn in:<ref name=":122" /><ref name=":1102" /></small> {{Date table sorting|1958|10|11||format=dmy}} |{{Date table sorting|1960|4|14||format=dmy}}<ref name=":122" /> |{{ayd|11 October 1958|14 April 1960}} |Independent | style="padding:0;" |<div style="padding:10;">Iskander Mirza</div> ----<div style="padding:10;">Ayub Khan</div> |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|military}};" |4 30x30px |120x120px |Lieutenant General Azam Khan
<small>(1908-1994)</small> |{{Date table sorting|1960|4|15||format=dmy}}<ref name=":132">{{Cite web |date=2013-04-25 |title=azamkhan - THE BANGABHABAN : The President House of Bangladesh |url=http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/azamkhan.html |access-date=2025-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425081007/http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/azamkhan.html |archive-date=25 April 2013 }}</ref> |{{Date table sorting|1962|5|10||format=dmy}}<ref name=":132" /> |{{ayd|15 April 1960|10 May 1962}} |Military | rowspan="5" |Ayub Khan |- style="background:#e6e6aa;" | style="background-color:gray; color:white;" |'''[-]''' | |Syed Hashim Raza (acting){{Efn|Syed Hashim Raza was Acting Governor of the province during the absence of General Azam Khan's official visit to West Germany.}}
<small>(1910-2003)</small> |{{Date table sorting|1961|7|1||format=dmy}}<ref name=":142">{{Cite web |date=2013-04-25 |title=hashimraza - THE BANGABHABAN : The President House of Bangladesh |url=http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/hashimraza.html |access-date=2025-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425081112/http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/hashimraza.html |archive-date=25 April 2013 }}</ref> |{{Date table sorting|1961|8|5||format=dmy}}<ref name=":142" /> |{{ayd|1 July 1961|5 August 1961}} |Independent |- ! style="background-color: gray; color:white" |5 |120x120px |Ghulam Faruque Khan <small>(1899-1992)</small> |{{Date table sorting|1962|5|11||format=dmy}}<ref name=":152">{{Cite web |date=2013-04-25 |title=faruque - THE BANGABHABAN : The President House of Bangladesh |url=http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/faruque.html |access-date=2025-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425081031/http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/faruque.html |archive-date=25 April 2013 }}</ref> |{{Date table sorting|1962|10|25||format=dmy}}{{Efn|Unable to cope with the political problems of East Pakistan, Ghulam Faruque Khan resigned from office.}}<ref name=":152" /> |{{ayd|11 May 1962|25 October 1962}} |Independent |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Pakistan Muslim League}}; color:white" |6 |160x160px |Abdul Monem Khan <small>(1899-1971)</small> |{{Date table sorting|1962|10|28||format=dmy}}<ref name=":162">{{Cite web |date=2013-04-09 |title=monemkhan - THE BANGABHABAN : The President House of Bangladesh |url=http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/monemkhan.html |access-date=2025-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409085649/http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/monemkhan.html |archive-date=9 April 2013 }}</ref> |{{Date table sorting|1969|3|23||format=dmy}}<ref name=":162" /> |{{ayd|28 October 1962|23 March 1969}}<br /><small>(Longest Serving)</small> |Muslim League |- ! style="background-color: gray; color:white" |7 |160x160px |Mirza Nurul Huda <small>(1919-1991)</small> |{{Date table sorting|1969|3|23||format=dmy}}<ref name=":172">{{Cite web |date=2013-04-08 |title=nurulhuda - THE BANGABHABAN : The President House of Bangladesh |url=http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/nurulhuda.html |access-date=2025-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408020135/http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/nurulhuda.html |archive-date=8 April 2013 }}</ref> |{{Date table sorting|1969|3|25||format=dmy}}{{Efn|With the promulgation of Martial Law throughout Pakistan and the abrogation of the constitution in the evening of 25 March, Mirza Nurul Huda's tenure of governorship came to an abrupt end after just 60 hours.}}<ref name=":172" /> |{{ayd|23 March 1969|25 March 1969}} |Independent |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|military}};" |8
| style="background-color: pink;" |155x155px | style="background-color: pink;" |Major General Muzaffaruddin{{Efn|On 25 March 1969 General Yahya Khan proclaimed martial law and divided the country into two administrative zones: West Pakistan (Zone 'A') and East Pakistan (Zone 'B'). Muzaffaruddin was the General Officer Commanding of the 14th Division and became Martial Law Administrator, Zone 'B'. On 8 April 1969, Yahya Khan issued an order directing that the Martial Law Administrators of Zone 'A' and 'B' would perform the functions and powers of the Governors of West and East Pakistan respectively. Thus Muzaffaruddin became Martial Law Administrator and also exercised the powers and functions of Governor of East Pakistan.|name=Marshall Law}}
<small>(Martial Law Administrator)</small> | style="background-color: pink;" |{{Date table sorting|1969|3|25||format=dmy}}<ref name=":182">{{Cite web |date=2013-04-09 |title=muzaffar - THE BANGABHABAN : The President House of Bangladesh |url=http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/muzaffar.html |access-date=2025-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409085729/http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/muzaffar.html |archive-date=9 April 2013 }}</ref> | style="background-color: pink;" |{{Date table sorting|1969|8|23||format=dmy}}<ref name=":182" /> | style="background-color: pink;" |{{ayd|25 March 1969|23 August 1969}} | style="background-color: pink;" |Military | rowspan="7" |Yahya Khan |- style="background-color: pink;" ! style="background-color: {{party color|military}};" |9
|155x155px |Lieutenant General Sahabzada Yaqub Khan{{Efn|Appointed as Martial Law Administrator of Zone 'B' and exercised the powers and functions of the Governor of East Pakistan.}}
<small>(1920-2016)</small>
<small>(Martial Law Administrator)</small> |{{Date table sorting|1969|8|23||format=dmy}}<ref name=":192">{{Cite web |date=2013-04-09 |title=yaqubkhan - THE BANGABHABAN : The President House of Bangladesh |url=http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/yaqubkhan.html |access-date=2025-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425081248/http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/yaqubkhan.html |archive-date=25 April 2013 }}</ref> |{{Date table sorting|1969|9|1||format=dmy}}{{Efn|On 8 April 1969, President Yahya Khan issued an order directing that the Martial Law Administrators would perform the functions and powers of the Governor. However, a notification issued by the cabinet secretariat on 1 September 1969 cancelled the order of 8 April 1969 and directed Martial Law Administrators to refrain from performing the functions of Governor in their respective provinces with immediate effect. Lt. General Yaqub Khan remained Martial Law Administrator until Vice Admiral S. M. Ahsan took over as the new Governor of East Pakistan on 1 September 1969}}<ref name=":192" /> |{{ayd|23 August 1969|1 September 1969}} |Military |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|military}};" |10
| |Vice Admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan
<small>(1921-1989)</small> |{{Date table sorting|1969|9|1||format=dmy}}<ref name=":202">{{Cite web |date=2013-04-25 |title=ahsan - THE BANGABHABAN : The President House of Bangladesh |url=http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/ahsan.html |access-date=2025-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425080956/http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/ahsan.html |archive-date=25 April 2013 }}</ref> |{{Date table sorting|1971|3|1||format=dmy}}<ref name=":202" /> |{{ayd|1 September 1969|1 March 1971}} |Military |- style="background-color: pink;" ! style="background-color: {{party color|military}};" |11
|155x155px |Lieutenant General Sahabzada Yaqub Khan{{Efn|Appointed the "head of civil administration in the province" and exercised the functions and powers of Governor from 1 March 1971 until the arrival of Lieutenant General Tikka Khan on 7 March 1971.}}
<small>(1920-2016)</small>
<small>(Head of Civil Administration)</small> |{{Date table sorting|1971|3|1||format=dmy}}<ref name=":192" /> |{{Date table sorting|1971|3|7||format=dmy}}<ref name=":192" /> |{{ayd|1 March 1971|7 March 1971}} |Military |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|military}};" |12
|143x143px |Lieutenant General Tikka Khan
<small>(1915-2002)</small> |<small>Appointment:</small><ref name=":212">{{Cite web |date=2013-04-09 |title=tikkakhan - THE BANGABHABAN : The President House of Bangladesh |url=http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/tikkakhan.html |access-date=2025-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409094534/http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/tikkakhan.html |archive-date=9 April 2013 }}</ref> {{Date table sorting|1971|3|6||format=dmy}} ----<small>Sworn in:<ref name=":212" /></small> {{Date table sorting|1971|3|7||format=dmy}} ----<small>Officially announced:<ref name=":212" /></small> {{Date table sorting|1971|3|9||format=dmy}} |{{Date table sorting|1971|9|3||format=dmy}}<ref name=":212" /> |{{ayd|7 March 1971|3 September 1971}} |Military |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Pakistan Muslim League}}; color:white" |13 |207x207px |Abdul Motaleb Malik <small>(1905-1977)</small> |<small>Appointment:</small><ref name=":222">{{Cite web |date=2013-04-09 |title=malik - THE BANGABHABAN : The President House of Bangladesh |url=http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/malik.html |access-date=2025-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409094145/http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/malik.html |archive-date=9 April 2013 }}</ref> {{Date table sorting|1971|8|31||format=dmy}} ----<small>Sworn in:<ref name=":222" /></small> {{Date table sorting|1971|9|3||format=dmy}} |{{Date table sorting|1971|12|14||format=dmy}}{{Efn|Abdul Motaleb Malik along with his cabinet resigned on 14 December after realising that Pakistani defeat was imminent and sought refuse in Hotel Intercontinental, seeking the protection of the Red Cross flag.}}<ref name=":222" /> |{{ayd|3 September 1971|14 December 1971}} |Muslim League |- style="background-color: pink;" ! style="background-color: {{party color|military}};" |14
|148x148px |Lieutenant General A. A. K. Niazi{{Efn|Commander of the Eastern Command of the Pakistan Army and as the supreme authority of Pakistan in its eastern wing, functioned and exercised power as the Governor of East Pakistan after the resignation of Abdul Motaleb Malik during the last 48 hours of Bangladesh Liberation War}}
<small>(1915-2004)</small>
<small>(Supreme Authority of East Pakistan)</small> |{{Date table sorting|1971|12|14||format=dmy}}<ref name=":232">{{Cite web |date=2013-04-09 |title=niazi - THE BANGABHABAN : The President House of Bangladesh |url=http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/niazi.html |access-date=2025-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409094159/http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/niazi.html |archive-date=9 April 2013 }}</ref> |{{Date table sorting|1971|12|16||format=dmy}}<ref name=":232" /> |{{ayd|14 December 1971|16 December 1971}} |Military |}
==Chief ministers==
'''Political Party'''{{Legend|{{party color|Pakistan Muslim League}}|Muslim League}} {{Legend|{{party color|Krishak Sramik Party}}|Krishak Sramik Party}} {{Legend|{{party color|United Front (East Pakistan)}}|United Front}} {{Legend|{{party color|Bangladesh Awami League}}|Awami League}}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" ! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" |# ! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" style="width:120px;"|Portrait ! rowspan="2" |Name ! colspan="3" |Term of office ! rowspan="2" |Political Party ! rowspan="2" |Governor ! rowspan="2" |Governor-General/ President |- !Term start !Term end !Time in office |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Pakistan Muslim League}}; color:white"| 1 |120px | Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin <small>(1894 – 1964)</small> | {{Date table sorting|1947|8|15|}} |{{Date table sorting|1948|9|4|}} |{{ayd|1947|8|15|1948|9|4}} | Muslim League | Sir Frederick Chalmers Bourne | Muhammad Ali Jinnah |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Pakistan Muslim League}}; color:white"| 2 |120px | Nurul Amin <small>(1893 – 1974)</small> |{{Date table sorting|1948|9|14|}} |{{Date table sorting|1954|4|3|}} |{{ayd|1948|9|14|1954|4|3}} | Muslim League | Sir Feroz Khan Noon | style="padding:0;" |<div style="padding:10;">Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin</div> ----<div style="padding:10;">Malik Ghulam Muhammad</div> |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|United Front (East Pakistan)}}; color:white" |3 |160x160px |''Sher-e-Bangla''<br />A. K. Fazlul Huq <small>(1873 - 1962)</small> |{{Date table sorting|1954|4|3|}} |{{Date table sorting|1954|5|29|}} |{{ayd|1954|4|3|1954|5|29}} | United Front | Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman |rowspan="2" |Malik Ghulam Muhammad |- ! style="background-color:gray; color:white;" |'''[-]''' |160x160px |''Vacant''<br/>('''Governor's rule''') |{{Date table sorting|1954|5|29|}} |{{Date table sorting|1955|6|20|}} |{{ayd|1954|5|29|1955|6|20}} | N/A | - |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Krishak Sramik Party}}; color:white" |4 |120px | Abu Hussain Sarkar <small>(1894 - 1969)</small> | <small>As Chief minister of East Bengal:</small> {{Date table sorting|1955|6|20|}} ----<small>As Chief minister of East Pakistan:</small> {{Date table sorting|1956|2|29}} |{{Date table sorting|1956|8|30|}} |<small>As Chief minister of East Bengal:</small> {{ayd|1955|6|20|1956|2|29}} ----<small>As Chief minister of East Pakistan:</small> {{ayd|1956|2|29|1956|8|30}} ----<small>As Chief minister of Eastern Wing</small> {{ayd|1955|6|20|1956|8|30}} | Krishak Sramik Party |style="padding:0;" |<div style="padding:10;">Iskander Mirza</div> ----<div style="padding:10;">Sir Thomas Hobart Ellis (Acting)</div> ----<div style="padding:10;">Muhammad Shahabuddin (Acting)</div> |style="padding:0;" |<div style="padding:10;">Malik Ghulam Muhammad</div> ----<div style="padding:10;">Iskander Mirza</div> |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Bangladesh Awami League}}; color:white" |5 |120px | Ataur Rahman Khan <small>(1907 - 1991)</small> | {{Date table sorting|1956|9|1|}} |{{Date table sorting|1958|3|31|}} |{{ayd|1956|9|1|1958|3|31}} | Awami League |style="padding:0;" |<div style="padding:10;">Amiruddin Ahmad (Acting)</div> ----<div style="padding:10;">''Sher-e-Bangla''<br />A. K. Fazlul Huq</div> |rowspan="2" |Iskander Mirza |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Krishak Sramik Party}}; color:white" |(4) |120px | Abu Hussain Sarkar <small>(1894 - 1969)</small> | {{Date table sorting|1958|3|31|}} |{{Date table sorting|1958|4|1|}} |{{ayd|1958|3|31|1958|4|1}} | Krishak Sramik Party |style="padding:0;" |<div style="padding:10;">''Sher-e-Bangla''<br />A. K. Fazlul Huq</div> ----<div style="padding:10;">Muhammad Hamid Ali (Acting)</div> |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Bangladesh Awami League}}; color:white" |(5) |120px | Ataur Rahman Khan <small>(1907 - 1991)</small> | {{Date table sorting|1958|4|1|}} |{{Date table sorting|1958|6|18|}} |{{ayd|1958|4|1|1958|6|18}} | Awami League |style="padding:0;" |<div style="padding:10;">Muhammad Hamid Ali (Acting)</div> ----<div style="padding:10;">Sultanuddin Ahmad</div> |style="padding:0;" |<div style="padding:10;">Iskander Mirza</div> ----<div style="padding:10;">Ayub Khan</div> |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Krishak Sramik Party}}; color:white" |(4) |120px | Abu Hussain Sarkar <small>(1894 - 1969)</small> | {{Date table sorting|1958|6|18|}} |{{Date table sorting|1958|6|22|}} |{{ayd|1958|6|18|1958|6|22}} | Krishak Sramik Party |Sultanuddin Ahmad |rowspan="3" |Ayub Khan |- ! style="background-color:gray; color:white;" |'''[-]''' |160x160px |''Vacant''<br/>('''Governor's rule''') |{{Date table sorting|1958|6|22|}} |{{Date table sorting|1958|8|25|}} |{{ayd|1958|6|22|1958|8|25}} | N/A | - |- ! style="background-color: {{party color|Bangladesh Awami League}}; color:white" |(5) |120px | Ataur Rahman Khan <small>(1907 - 1991)</small> | {{Date table sorting|1958|8|25|}} |{{Date table sorting|1958|10|7|}} |{{ayd|1958|8|25|1958|10|7}} | Awami League |Sultanuddin Ahmad |- |}
==Legacy in Pakistan== The trauma was extremely severe in Pakistan when the news of secession of East Pakistan as Bangladesh arrived—a psychological setback,<ref name="Haqqani2005"/> complete and humiliating defeat that shattered the prestige of the Pakistan Armed Forces.<ref name="Haqqani2005">{{cite book |last=Haqqani |first=Hussain |title=Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nYppZ_dEjdIC&pg=PP1 |year=2005 |publisher=United Book Press |isbn=978-0-87003-214-1 |access-date=17 October 2020 |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207173053/https://books.google.com/books?id=nYppZ_dEjdIC&pg=PP1 |url-status=live }}, Chapter 3, pp 87.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Ali |first=Tariq |year=1983 |title=Can Pakistan Survive? The Death of a State |publisher=Penguin Books |pages=98–99 |isbn=0-14-02-2401-7 |quote=The defeat of the Pakistan army traumatized West Pakistan and considerably dented the prestige of the armed services ... The defeat suffered in Dacca and the break-up of the country traumatized the population from top to bottom.}}</ref> The governor and martial law administrator, Lieutenant-General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, was defamed, his image was maligned and he was stripped of his honours.<ref name="Haqqani2005"/> The people of Pakistan could not come to terms with the magnitude of the defeat, and spontaneous demonstrations and mass protests erupted on the streets of major cities in (West) Pakistan.<ref name="Haqqani2005"/> General Yahya Khan surrendered powers to Nurul Amin of the Pakistan Muslim League, the first and last vice-president and prime minister of Pakistan.<ref name="Haqqani2005"/>
Prime Minister Amin invited then-President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and the Pakistan Peoples Party to take control of Pakistan in a colourful ceremony where Bhutto gave a daring speech to the nation on national television.<ref name="Haqqani2005"/> At the ceremony, Bhutto waved his fist in the air and pledged to his nation to never again allow the surrender of his country like what happened with East Pakistan. He launched and orchestrated the large-scale atomic bomb project in 1972.<ref name="The Atlantic">{{cite magazine |last=Langewiesche |first=William |date=November 2005 |title=The Wrath of Khan |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/11/the-wrath-of-khan/4333/3/ |magazine=The Atlantic |access-date=31 July 2016 |quote=Thirty-four years later it may seem obvious that the loss of Bangladesh was a blessing—but it is still not seen so today in Pakistan, and it was certainly not seen so at the time ... One month after the surrender of Pakistan's army in Bangladesh [Bhutto] called a secret meeting of about seventy Pakistani scientists ... He asked them for a nuclear bomb, and they responded enthusiastically. |archive-date=24 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110824213019/http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/11/the-wrath-of-khan/4333/3 |url-status=live }}</ref> In memorial of East Pakistan, the East-Pakistan diaspora in Pakistan established the East-Pakistan colony in Karachi, Sindh.<ref>{{cite news |last=Abbas Naqvi |date=17 December 2006 |title=Falling back |url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\12\17\story_17-12-2006_pg12_3 |newspaper=Daily Times |location=Pakistan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805231755/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C12%5C17%5Cstory_17-12-2006_pg12_3 |archive-date=5 August 2011 |access-date=25 March 2012 |quote=Few people in Karachi's Chittagong Colony can forget Dec 16, 1971 – the Fall of Dhaka}}</ref> In accordance, the East-Pakistani diaspora also composed patriotic tributes to Pakistan after the war; songs such as "Sohni Dharti" (lit. "Beautiful Land") and "Jeevay, Jeevay Pakistan" (lit. "long-live, long-live Pakistan"), were composed by Bengali singer Shahnaz Rahmatullah in the 1970s and 1980s.
According to William Langewiesche, writing for ''The Atlantic'', "it may seem obvious that the loss of Bangladesh was a blessing"<ref name="The Atlantic"/>—but it has never been seen that way in Pakistan.<ref name="The Atlantic"/> In the book ''Scoop! Inside Stories from the Partition to the Present'', Indian politician Kuldip Nayar opined, "Losing East Pakistan and Bhutto's releasing of Mujib did not mean anything to Pakistan's policy—as if there was no liberation war".<ref name="Nayar2006">{{cite book |last=Nayar |first=Kuldip |title=Scoop!: Inside Stories from Partition to the Present |date=1 October 2006 |publisher=HarperCollins |location=United Kingdom |isbn=978-8172236434 |pages=213 pages |url=http://www.thedailystar.net/forum/2006/december/bhuttonmujib.htm |access-date=25 March 2012 |archive-date=15 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515230956/http://www.thedailystar.net/forum/2006/december/bhuttonmujib.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Bhutto's policy, and even today the policy of Pakistan, is that "she will continue to fight for the honour and integrity of Pakistan".<ref name="Nayar2006"/>
==See also== * The Blood telegram * Bangladesh–Pakistan relations * Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 * East Pakistan football team * List of East Pakistan first-class cricketers * Partition of India * Provincial Government of East Pakistan * West Pakistan
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.bangladesh.gov.bd Government of Bangladesh] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060127012942/http://www.pakistan.gov.pk/ Government of Pakistan]
{{Language Movement}} {{Bangladesh–Pakistan relations}} {{Irredentism}} {{Authority control}}
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