Pakistani Instrument of Surrender

Pakistani Instrument of Surrender
Created	16 December 1971
Signatories	Lt.Gen. A A K Niazi Lt.Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora
Purpose	Surrender of the Pakistan Armed Forces Eastern Command in the Bangladesh Liberation War

The Pakistani Instrument of Surrender (Bengali: পাকিস্তানের আত্মসমর্পনের দলিল, Pākistānēr ātmasamarpanēr dalil) was a written agreement that enabled the surrender of Pakistan Armed Forces in the Bangladesh Liberation War. The surrender took place on 16 December 1971 at the Ramna Race Course in Dhaka.

Lieutenant-General A A K Niazi, Martial Law Administrator of West Pakistan, surrendered to Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, Joint Commander of the Bangladesh-India Allied Forces. Air Commodore A. K. Khandker acted as witness on behalf of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. Thousands of people celebrated the ceremony in central Dhaka, marking the liberation of Bangladesh and the victory of the independence war that began on 25 March 1971.

Subsequently, around 93,000 Pakistani troops and officials were taken as prisoners-of-war by the Indian Army, the largest number of POWs since World War II. They were later repatriated in 1973 under the terms of the Delhi Agreement.

Surrender ceremony

Lt Gen A A K Niazi signing the Instrument of Surrender under the gaze of Lt Gen J S Aurora. Standing immediately behind (L-R) Vice Admiral Krishnan, Air Marshal Dewan, Lt. Gen Sagat Singh, Maj Gen JFR Jacob (with Flt Lt Krishnamurthy peering over his shoulder). Veteran newscaster, Surojit Sen of All India Radio, is seen holding a microphone on the right.

Also present were Vice-Admiral Mohammad Shariff, Commander of the Pakistani Naval Eastern Command and Air Vice-Marshal Patrick D. Callaghan of the Pakistan Air Force's Eastern Air Force Command, who signed the agreement. On behalf of Bangladesh, Group Captain A. K. Khandker acted as witness to the surrender. Lt. Gen Sagat Singh, Commander of the Indian IV Corps, Air Marshal Hari Chand Dewan, Commander of Indian Eastern Air Command, Maj Gen JFR Jacob, Chief of Staff of the Indian Eastern Command, acted as witnesses on behalf of India. The signing of the document marked the end of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and the creation of Bangla Desh (later reduced to a single word). Lt. Gen. Aurora accepted the surrender without a word, while the crowd on the race course erupted in celebrations.

Text of the Instrument

The text of the surrender is now a public property of Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani governments and the text of the document can be seen on display in the National Museum in New Delhi. The text of the Instrument of Surrender document was as follows:

The Pakistan Eastern Command agree to surrender all Pakistan Armed Forces in Bangladesh to Lieutenant-General Jagjit Singh Aurora, General Officer Commanding in Chief of Indian and Bangladesh forces in the Eastern Theater. This surrender includes all Pakistan land, air and naval forces as also all para-military forces and civil armed forces. These forces will lay down their arms and surrender at the places where they are currently located to the nearest regular troops under the command of Lieutenant-General Jagjit Singh Aurora. The Pakistan Eastern Command shall come under the orders of Lieutenant-General Jagjit Singh Aurora as soon as the instrument has been signed. Disobedience of orders will be regarded as a breach of the surrender terms and will be dealt with in accordance with the accepted laws and usages of war. The decision of Lieutenant-General Jagjit Singh Aurora will be final, should any doubt arise as to the meaning of interpretation of the surrender terms. Lieutenant Jagjit Singh Aurora gives a solemn assurance that personnel who surrender shall be treated with dignity and respect that soldiers are entitled to in accordance with provisions of the Geneva Convention and guarantees the safety and well-being of all Pakistan military and para-military forces who surrender. Protection will be provided to foreign nationals, ethnic minorities and personnel of West Pakistani origin by the forces under the command of Lieutenant-General Jagjit Singh Aurora.
<signed>	<signed>
(JAGJIT SINGH AURORA) Lieutenant-General General Officer Commanding in Chief India and Bangladesh Forces in the Eastern Theatre 16 December 1971	(AMIR ABDULLAH KHAN NIAZI) Lieutenant-General Martial Law Administrator Zone B and Commander Eastern Command (Pakistan) 16 December 1971

Sources

• "Instrument of Surrender of Pakistani forces in Dacca", Hosted by Ministry of External Affairs, India
• "Virtual Bangladesh"
• "The Separation of East Pakistan"