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{{Short description|Written agreement of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War}}{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}

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{{nowrap>A. A. K. Niazi}}{{flagdecoarmy}} {{nowrap|Jagjit Singh Aurora}}|purpose = Ending the Bangladesh Liberation War and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971Evolution of Pakistan Eastern Command plan>Pakistan Armed Forces Eastern Command}}The Pakistani Instrument of Surrender () was a legal document signed between India (alongside the Provisional Government of Bangladesh) and Pakistan to end the Bangladesh Liberation War and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.BOOK, Burke, S. M.,www.worldcat.org/oclc/234380949, Mainsprings of Indian and Pakistani foreign policies, 1974, University of Minnesota Press, 978-0-8166-6172-5, Minneapolis, 234380949, ...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)., Per the trilateral agreement, the Pakistani government surrendered the Armed Forces Eastern Command,NEWS, The Surrender Document,www.nytimes.com/1971/12/17/archives/the-surrender-document.html, The New York Times, 17 December 1971, 19 June 2021, 16 December 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211216212222/https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/17/archives/the-surrender-document.html, live, BANGLAPEDIA, Prisoners_of_War,_Trial_of, NEWS, Flashback: From behind the barbed wire,www.dawn.com/news/771713/flashback-from-behind-the-barbed-wire, Dawn, 16 December 2021, en, 16 December 2012, 16 December 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211216211433/https://www.dawn.com/news/771713/flashback-from-behind-the-barbed-wire, live, thereby enabling the establishment of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh over the territory of East Pakistan. The document was signed by Jagjit Singh Aurora and Pakistan’s A. A. K. Niazi, who corroborated the surrender of 93,000 Pakistani soldiers — the world’s largest surrender in terms of number of personnel since World War II.BOOK, Koul, Bill K.,books.google.com/books?id=CW78DwAAQBAJ&dq=largest+pow+after+ww2+1971&pg=PA254, The Exiled Pandits of Kashmir: Will They Ever Return Home?, 2020, Springer Nature, 978-981-15-6537-3, 254, en, More than 90,000...., the largest ever since World War 2., 20 January 2022, 27 July 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230727160759/https://books.google.com/books?id=CW78DwAAQBAJ&dq=largest+pow+after+ww2+1971&pg=PA254, live, NEWS, 16 December 2021, Country marks 50 years of 1971 war, en-IN, The Hindu,www.thehindu.com/news/national/pm-modi-hails-indias-armed-forces-bangladeshi-freedom-fighters-on-vijay-diwas/article37966588.ece, 2022-01-26, 0971-751X, 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., 26 January 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220126060442/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pm-modi-hails-indias-armed-forces-bangladeshi-freedom-fighters-on-vijay-diwas/article37966588.ece, live, Despite the agreement, Pakistan did not formally recognize Bangladeshi sovereignty until February 1974.The ratification of the agreement by all sides also marked the end of the Bangladesh genocide, perpetrated by Pakistan during the conflict. Bangladesh and the Indian Armed Forces celebrate Pakistan’s 1971 defeat and surrender on an annual basis, observing 16 December as Victory Day.

Surrender ceremony

File:1. স্বাধীনতা স্তম্ভ.jpg|thumb|left|The Swadhinata Stambha ({{Literal translation|Independence Monument}}) in Suhrawardy UdyanSuhrawardy UdyanThe surrender ceremony took place at the Ramna Race Course in Dacca, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), on 16 December 1971: A. A. K. Niazi of the Pakistan Army formally surrendered to Jagjit Singh Aurora, an Indian Army officer and joint commander of the Bangladesh Forces. A. K. Khandker, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Bangladesh Forces, represented the Provisional Government of Bangladesh at the ceremony.Also present from the Pakistani Eastern Command were Mohammad Shariff of the Pakistan Navy and Patrick Desmond Callaghan of the Pakistan Air Force, both of whom signed the agreement alongside Niazi.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}} Sagat Singh, Commander of the Indian IV Corps; Hari Chand Dewan, Commander of the Indian Eastern Air Command; and J. F. R. Jacob, Chief of Staff of the Indian Eastern Command; all acted as witnesses on behalf of India.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}Niazi accepted the surrender while the crowd on the race course promptly erupted in celebrations.

Text of the instrument

File:Pakistani Instrument of Surrender 1971.jpg|alt=The Instrument of Surrender|thumb|Scanned copy of the 1971 Pakistani Instrument of Surrender, Bangladesh Ministry of Liberation War Affairs ]]The document is now public property under the governments of India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, and can be seen on display at the National Museum in the Indian capital of New Delhi. The text of the Instrument of Surrender is as follows:{| class=“wikitable” style="font-size: 88%;” INSTRUMENT OF SURRENDERThe 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. align=“center” | (JAGJIT SINGH AURORA)Lieutenant-GeneralGeneral Officer Commanding in ChiefIndian and BANGLA DESH Forces in theEastern Theatre16 December 1971 (AMIR ABDULLAH KHAN NIAZI)Lieutenant-GeneralMartial Law Administrator Zone B andCommander Eastern Command (PAKISTAN)16 December 1971{{Clear}}

Sources

• “Instrument of Surrender of Pakistani forces in Dacca”, Hosted by Ministry of External Affairs, India
• “The Separation of East Pakistan”

References

JOURNAL, Howard S. Levie, January 1974, The Indo-Pakistani Agreement of August 28, 1973, American Journal of International Law, American Society of International Law, 68, 1, 95–97, 10.2307/2198806, 2198806, 246007433, NEWS, Kuldip Nayar, 1998-02-03, Of betrayal and bungling, Indian Express,expressindia.indianexpress.com/ie/daily/19980203/03450744.html, 2014-05-17,expressindia.indianexpress.com/ie/daily/19980203/03450744.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20140517162600expressindia.indianexpress.com/ie/daily/19980203/03450744.html,">web.archive.org/web/20140517162600expressindia.indianexpress.com/ie/daily/19980203/03450744.html, 2014-05-17, WEB, The Separation of East Pakistan,storyofpakistan.com/the-separation-of-east-pakistan/, Story of Pakistan, 2020-07-28, 2003-06-01, 2 October 2018,storyofpakistan.com/the-separation-of-east-pakistan," title="web.archive.org/web/20181002090348storyofpakistan.com/the-separation-of-east-pakistan,">web.archive.org/web/20181002090348storyofpakistan.com/the-separation-of-east-pakistan, live, WEB,www.virtualbangladesh.com/the-basics/history-of-bangladesh/independence/the-instrument-of-surrender/, The Instrument of Surrender, Virtual Bangladesh, 2015, 9 December 2016, 17 March 2018,www.virtualbangladesh.com/the-basics/history-of-bangladesh/independence/the-instrument-of-surrender/," title="web.archive.org/web/20180317113356www.virtualbangladesh.com/the-basics/history-of-bangladesh/independence/the-instrument-of-surrender/,">web.archive.org/web/20180317113356www.virtualbangladesh.com/the-basics/history-of-bangladesh/independence/the-instrument-of-surrender/, live, {{Bangladesh liberation}}{{1971 Indo-Pakistan War}}