|
Razakar (Pakistan)
Razakar ur, , literally "volunteer"; bn, রাজাকার) was an East Pakistani paramilitary force organised by General Tikka Khan in then East Pakistan, now called Bangladesh, during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. Since the 1971 war, it has become a pejorative term (implying traitor) in Bangladesh due to the atrocities allegedly committed by the Razakars during the War. The Razakar force was composed of mostly anti-Bangladesh and pro-Pakistan Bengalis and Urdu-speaking migrants who lived in Bangladesh at the time. Creation The East Pakistan Razakars Ordinance was promulgated on 2 August 1971 by the Governor of East Pakistan, Lieutenant General Tikka Khan. The Ordinance stipulated the creation of a voluntary force to be trained and equipped by the Provincial Government. This was to add to the government's forces to suppress the rebellion of people who wanted independence for the region. It is also alleged that Razakars were recruited by the Shanti Committee, wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-largest Muslim population just behind Indonesia. Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country in the world by area and 2nd largest in South Asia, spanning . It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest, and China to the northeast. It is separated narrowly from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor in the north, and also shares a maritime border with Oman. Islamabad is the nation's capital, while Karachi is its largest city and financial centre. Pakistan is the site of several ancient cultures, including the 8,500-year-old Neolithic site of Mehrgarh in Balochistan, the Indus Valley civilisation of the Bronze Age, the most extens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1971 Bangladesh Genocide
The genocide in Bangladesh began on 25 March 1971 with the launch of Operation Searchlight, as the government of Pakistan, dominated by West Pakistan, began a military crackdown on East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to suppress Bengali calls for self-determination. During the nine-month-long Bangladesh Liberation War, members of the Pakistan Armed Forces and supporting pro-Pakistani Islamist militias from Jamaat-e-Islami killed between 300,000 and 3,000,000 people and raped between 200,000 and 400,000 Bengali women, in a systematic campaign of genocidal rape. The Government of Bangladesh states 3,000,000 people were killed during the genocide, making it the largest genocide since the Holocaust during World War II. The actions against women were supported by Pakistan's religious leaders, who declared that Bengali women were ''gonimoter maal'' (Bengali for "public property"). As a result of the conflict, a further eight to ten million people fled the country to seek refuge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mukti Bahini
The Mukti Bahini ( bn, মুক্তিবাহিনী, translates as 'freedom fighters', or liberation army), also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary and civilians during the War of Liberation that transformed East Pakistan into Bangladesh in 1971. They were initially called the Mukti Fauj. On 7 March 1971 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman issued a call to the people of East Pakistan to prepare themselves for an all-out struggle. Later that evening resistance demonstrations began, and the military began a full-scale retaliation with Operation Searchlight, which continued through May 1971. A formal military leadership of the resistance was created in April 1971 under the Provisional Government of Bangladesh. The military council was headed by General M. A. G. Osmani''Unconventional Warfare in South Asia: Shadow Warriors and Counterinsurgency'', Gates and Roy, Routledge, 2016 and eleven sector co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Pakistan
West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was dissolved to form 4 provinces in 1970 before 1970 General Elections under the 1970 Legal Framework Order. Following its independence from British rule, the new Dominion of Pakistan was physically separated into two exclaves, with the western and eastern wings geographically separated from each other by India. The western wing of Pakistan comprised three governor's provinces (the North-West Frontier, West Punjab and Sind), one chief commissioner's province ( Baluchistan) along with the Baluchistan States Union, several independent princely states (notably Bahawalpur, Chitral, Dir, Hunza, Khairpur and Swat), the Karachi Federal Capital Territory, and the autonomous tribal areas adjoining the North-West Frontier Province. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yahya Khan
General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan , (Urdu: ; 4 February 1917 – 10 August 1980); commonly known as Yahya Khan, was a Pakistani military general who served as the third President of Pakistan and Chief Martial Law Administrator following his predecessor Ayub Khan's resignation from 25 March 1969 until his resignation on 20 December 1971. During his dictatorship, he ordered Operation Searchlight in an effort to suppress Bengali nationalism which triggered the Bangladesh Liberation War. He was central to the perpetration of the Bangladesh genocide, the genocide of the populace of modern-day Bangladesh which resulted in death of 300,000–3,000,000 Bengalis. Born in Chakwal, Khan was educated from the Colonel Brown Cambridge School in Dehradun and the University of the Punjab in Lahore. He joined the Indian Military Academy and was commissioned to the British Indian Army in 1939. Khan served in the Second World War in the Mediterranean theatre against the Axis powers and rose to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geneva Conventions
upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Convention'' usually denotes the agreements of 1949, negotiated in the aftermath of the Second World War (1939–1945), which updated the terms of the two 1929 treaties and added two new conventions. The Geneva Conventions extensively define the basic rights of wartime prisoners (civilians and military personnel), established protections for the wounded and sick, and provided protections for the civilians in and around a war-zone; moreover, the Geneva Convention also defines the rights and protections afforded to non-combatants. The treaties of 1949 were ratified, in their entirety or with reservations, by 196 countries. The Geneva Conventions concern only prisoners and non-combatants in war; they do not address the use of weapons of war, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army (, ) is the land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the Partition of British India, which occurred as a result of the 1947 Indian Independence Act of the United Kingdom. According to statistics provided by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in 2021, the Pakistan Army has approximately 560,000 active-duty personnel, supported by the Army Reserve and National Guard. Pakistani citizens can enlist for voluntary military service upon reaching 16 years of age, but cannot be deployed for combat until the age of 18 in accordance with the Constitution of Pakistan. The primary objective and constitutional mission of the Pakistan Army is to ensure the national security and national unity of Pakistan by defending it against any form of external aggression or the threat of war. It can also be requisitioned by the Pakistani federal go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Light Infantry
Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought as scouts, raiders, and skirmishers. These are loose formations that fight ahead of the main army to harass, delay, disrupt supply lines, engage the enemy’s own skirmishing forces, and generally "soften up" an enemy before the main battle. Light infantrymen were also often responsible for screening the main body of a military formation. Post-World War II, the term "light infantry" evolved to include rapid-deployment units (including commandos and airborne units) that emphasize speed and mobility over armor and firepower. Some units or battalions that historically held a skirmishing role have kept their designation "light infantry" for the sake of tradition. History Ancient history The concept of a skirmishing screen is a very ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Brigades formed into divisions are usually infantry or armored (sometimes referred to as combined arms brigades). In addition to combat units, they may include combat support units or sub-units, such as artillery and engineers, and logistic units. Historically, such brigades have sometimes been called brigade-groups. On operations, a brigade may comprise both organic elements and attached elements, including some temporarily attached for a specific task. Brigades may also be specialized and comprise battalions of a single branch, for example cavalry, mechanized, armored, artillery, air defence, aviation, engineers, signals or logistic. Some brigades are classified as independent or separate and operate independently from the traditional div ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheikh Hasina
Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh since January 2009. Hasina is the daughter of the founding father and first President of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. She previously served as prime minister from June 1996 to July 2001. She is the longest serving prime minister in the history of Bangladesh, having served for a combined total of over 18 years. As of , she is the world's longest-serving female Head of Government in history. Hasina's term as the Prime Minister witnessed worsening security situation that includes the Bangladesh Rifles revolt in 2009 which killed 56 officers of Bangladesh Army, as well as increasing attacks by Islamic extremists in the country, including the July 2016 Dhaka attack which has been described as "deadliest Islamist attack in Bangladeshi h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Shams (East Pakistan)
The Al-Shams ( bn, আল শামস) was an anti-Bangladesh paramilitary wing of several Islamist parties in East Pakistan composed of local Bengalis and Muhajirs that along with the Pakistan Army and the Al-Badr, is accused of conducting a mass killing campaign against Bengali nationalists, civilians, religious and ethnic minorities during 1971. The group was banned by the independent government of Bangladesh, but most of its members had fled the country during and after the Bangladesh Liberation War, which led to Bangladesh's independence. Naming and inspirations Al-Shams is an Arabic word meaning 'The Sun' and also the name of a Surah in the Holy Quran, Surat Ash-Shams. Al Shams and Al-Badr were local Bengali and Bihari armed groups formed by the Pakistan Army which were mostly recruited from the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami to fight out and resist Mukti Bahini. Background On 25 March 1971, after Operation Searchlight, the exiled leadership of what is now Bangladesh de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Badr (East Pakistan)
The Al-Badr ( bn, আল বদর) was a paramilitary force composed mainly of Bihari Muslims which operated in East Pakistan against the Bengali nationalist movement during the Bangladesh Liberation War, under the patronage of the Pakistani government. Etymology The name Al-Badr means the full moon and refers to the Battle of Badr. History Organization Al-Badr was constituted in September 1971 under the auspices of General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, then chief of the Pakistan Army eastern command. Members of Al-Badr were recruited from public schools and madrasas (religious schools). The unit was used for raids and special operations; the Pakistan army command initially planned to use the locally recruited militias (Al-Badr, Razakar, Al-Shams) for policing cities of East Pakistan, and regular army units to defend the border with India. Most members of Al-Badr appear to have been Biharis. Despite their similarities in opposing the independence of Bangladesh, the Raza ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.svg "Click for more on -> Mukti Bahini")
