War of Liberation 1971: The Last 10 Days of Bangladesh's War of Independence

December 15, 1971. An important meeting of the UN Security Council was being held in New York on the Indo-Pakistani war.

Discussions on a Polish proposal in support of the then Soviet Union to end the war were quite exciting.

Pakistan was represented at the Security Council by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who took over the presidency in less than a week.

At one point in the speech, Mr. Bhutto tore up a piece of paper containing Poland's proposal and walked out of the Security Council.

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Mr. described the Polish proposal as a "document of surrender." Bhutto.

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But Mr. The fate of East Pakistan was decided when Bhutto reacted sharply to the Security Council.

Cold fight

When the people of Bangladesh were fighting for their lives to get rid of Pakistan, the world was completely different. Most countries confined themselves to two different poles.

And the countries of great power were involved in cold war with each other centering on the war of independence of Bangladesh.

The United States and China were in favor of Pakistan, while the then Soviet Union (the most influential part of which was present-day Russia) and India were in favor of the rise of Bangladesh.

The situation in East Pakistan has been the subject of much discussion in the UN Security Council and the General Assembly since India became embroiled in the war on December 3.

Outside the United Nations, intense diplomatic debates began between the United States, China, the Soviet Union, and India.

The situation reached a point where then-US President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger put intense pressure on the Soviet Union.

America's sole purpose was to stop India through the Soviet Union and save Pakistan from disintegration.

The US also sent warships to the Bay of Bengal to create a kind of military threat to India.

American pressure on India

On December 6, India recognized Bangladesh as an independent country. As Henry Kissinger writes, the recognition given by Indira Gandhi virtually eliminated all possibility of political dialogue.

The United States then cut off all economic aid to India. However, it did not affect India.

Diplomats in Washington were somewhat surprised by the US decision.

A report in the New York Times at the time said that many thought the United States would play a "neutral role" during the 1965 Indo-Pakistani war.

In addition, the Washington Post in its editorial described the US decision on India as "ridiculous".

On December 7, US President Richard Nixon sent a letter to Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev urging India to stop its attacks on East Pakistan. But it did not help. Because, Moscow wanted India to go to war.

Negotiations at the UN

The UN Security Council referred the issue to the UN General Assembly on 6 December 1971 for discussion on the India-Pakistan issue.

Earlier, the Soviet Union repeatedly rejected a Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in East Pakistan.

But the General Assembly has no power to make decisions. The General Assembly can only debate and vote on a proposal. But no one has any obligation to abide by it.

In such a situation, the concern among the Pakistani officials continues to grow. On December 6, Pakistani President Yahya Khan told the United States that East Pakistan was becoming isolated.

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On December 8, the UN General Assembly voted on a ceasefire proposal. But India has already said it will not accept any ceasefire offer.

The United States supported a resolution in the UN General Assembly calling for a ceasefire in East Pakistan and the withdrawal of Indian troops.

The New York Times reported that the proposal received 104 votes in favor and 11 against.

The day after the vote, the New York Times quoted Narendra Singh, one of the members of the Indian delegation to the United Nations, as saying, "We will not call a ceasefire. Of course not. We are not fools."

Kissinger's concern about West Pakistan

US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger wrote in his book White House Years that Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi would not accept any ceasefire proposal made by the UN General Assembly until East Pakistan became independent.

Mr. According to Nixon, Indira Gandhi also planned to disassociate not only East Pakistan but also Pakistan-controlled Azad Kashmir from Pakistan and disarm West Pakistan.

George HW Bush, who became President of the United States in 1989, was the US Ambassador to the United Nations in 1971. Mr. Nixon's administration. Bush described India as an "aggressor" at the United Nations.

The only way for America to stop India was to put pressure on the Soviet Union.

That's why on December 8, President Nixon told Secretary of State Henry Kissinger that the summit between the United States and the Soviet Union in Moscow should be canceled. Then maybe Russia will be under pressure.

The strongest concern in America at the time was that India might invade West Pakistan.

In this context, a junior US Secretary of State had a meeting with the Indian Ambassador to Washington. At the meeting, the US sought assurances from India that India would not invade Azad Kashmir and West Pakistan.

At the meeting, the Indian ambassador assured the US that West Pakistan would not invade India. But no assurances were given about Azad Kashmir. The Indian ambassador said the matter should be discussed with Delhi.

According to Henry Kissinger, Pakistan will not survive as a state if it loses East Pakistan and Kashmir at the same time.

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President Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger were shocked to receive no assurances from the Indian ambassador about Azad Kashmir.

American pressure on Russia

On December 9, Soviet Minister of Agriculture Vladimir Matkevich visited Washington. He met with President Nixon at the Oval Office.

At the meeting, President Nixon said quite openly that the war on the subcontinent was hampering the development of relations between the United States and the Soviet Union.

"If India moves on to West Pakistan, the United States will not sit still. That is why an immediate ceasefire and a political solution are needed," President Nixon told the Soviet minister.

Tensions between the White House and the State Department also erupted over the way President Nixon opposed India.

Meanwhile, at one point Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev made an offer to the United States due to constant American pressure.

According to Henry Kissinger, one of the things Brezhnev suggested was to resume talks with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from the stage he had broken up with before March 25.

On the advice of Brezhnev, the United States held talks with Pakistani President Yahya Khan on December 10. On this basis a new proposal was made.

However, the proposal eliminated the demand for withdrawal of Indian troops from East Pakistan. Pakistan and the United States wanted to end the war and maintain stability for the time being.

Foreign Minister Henry Kissinger sent the proposal to the Soviet envoy on the morning of December 10. But for 48 hours there was no response from the Soviet Union.

America's secret talks with China

Meanwhile, President Nixon instructed a fleet of US warships to sail to the Bay of Bengal.

Foreign Minister Henry Kissinger wrote in his memoirs that the decision was made to send the warship as a precaution against any attack in West Pakistan. The fleet was then located east of the Strait of Malacca.

The Nixon administration then had the idea that what was to happen in East Pakistan had happened, but West Pakistan had to be saved.

Foreign Minister Henry Kissinger left Washington for a secret meeting in New York to hold talks with China's ambassador to the United Nations.

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But in the meantime he received word that General AK Niazi, the military commander of East Pakistan, wanted to surrender. Secretary of State Kissinger was upset at the news, but the State Department was happy.

The main reason for Henry Kissinger's unhappiness was that a proposal had already been made to the Soviet Union for talks with Yahya Khan for an overall ceasefire on the East Pakistan and West borders.

US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger with Chinese Prime Minister Chou En-lai

They thought that if there was a ceasefire in East Pakistan only, the Indian army might attack West Pakistan.

Henry Kissinger and China's ambassador to the United Nations, Huang Hua, met at a CIA office in New York at 6 pm on December 10.

At the meeting, the Chinese ambassador and the US secretary of state agreed that if West Pakistan was attacked and Pakistan was on the verge of destruction, the two countries would use maximum political force.

The United States is once again pushing for a comprehensive ceasefire on the East Pakistan and West borders.

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Henry Kissinger called the Soviet envoy and warned that if there was no immediate response to their proposal, the United States would take drastic action.

The decision to send a warship to the Bay of Bengal was one of them.

Nixon and Kissinger tried hard

Henry Kissinger had a meeting with Pakistan's Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in New York on December 11. In that meeting, Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Kissinger said America wants to protect Pakistan.

Therefore, to work with China to fix an action plan, Mr. Mr. Bhutto advised. Kissinger.

The United States will then help pass a resolution at the United Nations, and the next 48 hours are crucial. Kissinger.

Yahya Khan and Richard Nixon

Pakistani President Yahya Khan had a good relationship with US President Richard Nixon

President Nixon and Secretary of State Kissinger focused mainly on West Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

On the morning of December 12, President Nixon, Secretary of State Kissinger and the White House Chief of Staff met at the Oval Office.

During their meeting, the Soviet envoy called and said that Russia was responding to an earlier US ceasefire offer.

After waiting another hour, President Nixon sent a message to the hotline to the Soviet Union.

The message said that the United States would take the India-Pakistan issue to the UN Security Council after waiting 72 hours but receiving no response from the Soviets. Once a decision is made there, it cannot be changed.

In the meantime, President Nixon instructed the warship to sail to the Bay of Bengal. "Time is running out," Henry Kissinger said of sending a hotline message to the Soviet envoy again.

At around 5 pm on December 12, the North of the Soviet Union came to America on the hotline. The message said it was not clear whether India would invade West Pakistan.

The Soviet Union repeatedly asked India for information, but no clear answer was forthcoming.

Meanwhile, the US warship crossed the Strait of Mallakka and entered the Bay of Bengal.

The documents, entitled "Foreign Relations of the United States, the South Asia Crisis," state that on December 14, the Soviet envoy delivered an official letter to the White House Chief of Staff.

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The letter said India had given assurances that it had no plans to invade West Pakistan.

However, it was not clear whether India would invade Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

Retry through the UN

Meanwhile, on December 14, France and Italy proposed a ceasefire in the Security Council. But the proposal only called for a ceasefire in West Pakistan.

At the same time, a draft proposal came from Poland. On December 15, Poland's draft proposal came up for discussion in the Security Council.

The proposal was backed by the Soviet Union and accepted by India "reluctantly".

According to the New York Times, Indian Foreign Minister Sharan Singh told the Security Council that talks could take place if Pakistani troops were withdrawn and Bangladeshi representatives were included in the talks.

One of the issues in the proposal was a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Pakistani troops from East Pakistan.

Mr. Security Council. "We will fight. My country is calling me. No more time can be wasted here. Your Security Council is here. I am leaving," Bhutto said. 

In late 1971, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took part in the UN talks on the war in East Pakistan

If Poland had accepted the offer, it might have been in Pakistan's favor in the end.

Colonel Riaz Jafri was serving in the Pakistan Army. He has seen the events of 1971 very closely. In a 2016 article, he wrote that accepting Poland's offer was tantamount to accepting East Pakistan's "secession".

But if he had accepted the offer, he would not have had to surrender to India, said Riaz Jafri.

Preparation for surrender

Despite talks at the UN, General AK Niazi visited the home of US Consul General Spivak in Dhaka on the evening of December 14 to discuss the ceasefire process.

Ake Niazi, the commander of Pakistani forces stationed in East Pakistan, said he was ready for a ceasefire, if his troops were given security.

Although the term 'ceasefire' was used, it was in fact the surrender of Pakistani forces.

A ceasefire letter written by General Niazi through the US envoy reached Indian Army Chief General Sam Manekshaw on 15 December.

General Manekshaw replied, "If Pakistani troops surrender to my advancing troops, a ceasefire will be acceptable and the surrendering troops will be given security."

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Henry Kissinger said Pakistani troops held East Pakistan for another five days after a ceasefire was proposed on December 10. During this time America was able to put pressure on India and the Soviet Union so that West Pakistan would not be attacked.

After the surrender of Pakistani forces, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared an unconditional ceasefire on the western border on 16 December.

Richard Nixon claimed that India was forced to call a ceasefire on the western border as a result of pressure exerted by the Soviet Union. He also claimed that sending warships to the Bay of Bengal put pressure on the Soviet Union. Nixon.

And after Bangladesh became independent, Chinese Prime Minister Chou En-lai told Pakistani leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, "We have saved West Pakistan."

  Source: BBC Bangla

*The writer works at BBC Bangla, Dhaka