Bangladesh
Genocide Remembrance Day Bangladesh observing Genocide Remembrance Day today
Dhaka, March 25: Today is March 25. On this date in 1971, a horrible night came down in the life of the Bengali nation. At midnight, the barbaric Pakistani aggressors, armed with sophisticated weapons, attacked the unarmed Bengalis all over the country, including the capital Dhaka, with the abominable aim of silencing the voices of the Bengalis forever according to the blueprint of their pre-planned Operation Search Light.
US journalist Robert Payne wrote on the night of March 25, "7,000 people were killed that night, 3,000 more were arrested. The incident in Dhaka had just begun. Troops were rising all over East Pakistan. The houses and shops were burning. Looting and destruction became their addiction. The corpses lying on the streets became the food of crows and foxes. All of Bangladesh became a vulture-infested cremation ground."
The recognition of this wholesale genocide is also in the documents published by the government of Pakistan itself.
The White Paper on the Crisis in East Pakistan, published by the Pakistani government during the Liberation War, states: "More than 1,00,000 people were killed between March 1, 1971 and the night of March 25, 1971."
Despite winning a majority of votes in the 1970 general election, the Pakistani junta failed to hand over power to the Awami League.
The main objective of their operation was to indiscriminately kill all the conscious citizens, including the Awami League and the then progressive political leaders and activists of East Pakistan.
Pakistani troops attacked Peelkhana, Rajarbagh and Nilkhet at midnight. The invading forces occupied the university area, including Nilkhet, through tanks and mortars. The nights of the city are terrifying with the machine gun fire of the army, the mortar shells of the tanks and the flames of the fire.
A statement in this regard is also found in the book 'Witness to Surrender' by Siddique Salik, who is in charge of the public relations officer of Lieutenant General Tikka Khan and Lieutenant General AAK Niazi.
Siddique Salik was by General Niazi's side during the liberation war of Bangladesh. As a loyal Pakistani against the people of Bangladesh, he witnessed the conspiracy of the Pak military junta very closely.
On March 25, the moment Operation Searchlight began, he wrote, "Military operations begin prematurely. The signs of a stabilization (H-Hour) have disappeared. The gates of hell have been opened."
