| Instrument of Surrender of Pakistan | |
|---|---|
 Lt. Gen.A. A. K. Niazi of thePakistan Army signing the Instrument of Surrender under the direction of Lt. Gen.Jagjit Singh Aurora of theIndian Army andBangladesh Forces[1] | |
| Ratified | 16 December 1971 |
| Location | Dacca,East Pakistan (nowBangladesh) |
| Signatories |  A. A. K. Niazi Jagjit Singh Aurora |
| Subject | Surrender of thePakistan Armed Forces Eastern Command |
| Purpose | Ending theBangladesh Liberation War and theIndo-Pakistani War of 1971 |
ThePakistani Instrument of Surrender (Bengali:পাকিস্তানের আত্মসমর্পণের দলিল,romanized: Pākistānēr Ātmôsômôrpôṇēr Dôlil) was a legal document signed betweenIndia (alongside theProvisional Government of Bangladesh) andPakistan to end theBangladesh Liberation War and theIndo-Pakistani War of 1971.[2][3][4] Per the trilateral agreement, the Pakistani government surrendered theArmed Forces Eastern Command,[1][5][6] thereby enabling the establishment of thePeople's Republic of Bangladesh over the territory ofEast Pakistan. The document was signed by India's Lt. GenJagjit Singh Aurora and Pakistan'sA. A. K. Niazi, and led to the surrender of 93,000 Pakistanis — the world's largest surrender in terms of number of personnel sinceWorld War II.[7][8] Despite the agreement, Pakistan did not formallyrecognize Bangladeshi sovereignty until February 1974.[9][10]
The ratification of the agreement by all sides also marked the end of theBangladesh genocide, perpetrated by Pakistan during the conflict. Bangladesh and theIndian Armed Forces celebrate Pakistan's 1971 defeat and surrender on an annual basis, observing 16 December asVictory Day.[11][12][13]
The surrender ceremony took place at theRamna Race Course inDacca,East Pakistan (nowBangladesh), on 16 December 1971:A. A. K. Niazi of thePakistan Army formally surrendered toJagjit Singh Aurora, anIndian Army officer and joint commander of theBangladesh Forces.A. K. Khandker, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Bangladesh Forces, represented theProvisional Government of Bangladesh at the ceremony.[14]
Also present from the Pakistani Eastern Command wereMohammad Shariff of thePakistan Navy andPatrick Desmond Callaghan of thePakistan Air Force, both of whom signed the agreement alongside Niazi.[15]Sagat Singh, Commander of theIndian IV Corps;Hari Chand Dewan, Commander of theIndian Eastern Air Command; andJ. F. R. Jacob, Chief of Staff of theIndian Eastern Command;[16][17] all acted as witnesses on behalf ofIndia.
Niazi accepted the surrender while the crowd on the race course promptly erupted in celebrations.[18]
The document is now public property under the governments of India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, and can be seen on display at theNational Museum in the Indian capital ofNew Delhi. The text of the Instrument of Surrender is as follows:[19][20]
| INSTRUMENT OF SURRENDER The PAKISTAN Eastern Command agree to surrender all PAKISTAN Armed Forces in BANGLA DESH to Lieutenant-General JAGJIT SINGH AURORA, General Officer Commanding in Chief of the Indian and BANGLA DESH forces in the Eastern Theatre. 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 this 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 or interpretation of the surrender terms. Lieutenant-General 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 the 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 PAKISTAN origin by the forces under the command of Lieutenant-General JAGJIT SINGH AURORA. | |
| <signed> | <signed> |
(JAGJIT SINGH AURORA) | (AMIR ABDULLAH KHAN NIAZI) |
...continuing deadlock over the release of some 93,000 Pakistani prisoners of war, including 15,000 civilian men, women and children, captured in East Pakistan (the few hundred prisoners captured by each side on the Western front were exchanged on December 1, 1972).
More than 90,000...., the largest ever since World War 2.
It was the largest military surrender after the Second World War and the Indian armed forces, along with Mukti Bahini, liberated Bangladesh in a span of just 13 days and also the surrender of 93,000 Pakistani soldiers, the largest surrender of armed forces post Second World War.
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