With so many controversies going around about the fall of Dhaka, our son of soil General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi is portrayed as the man who surrendered willfully to the enemy. While going through the following excerpts from different credible sources, any sensible reader can assess that the brave general was framed and left with no options but to surrender:

Excerpt from Wikipedia:
“Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi (1915 – February 2, 2004) was a Pakistani military commander who was notable for surrendering to Indian forces in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War.

Born to a Pathan family in the Punjab, Niazi enlisted in the British Indian Army as a junior officer, and fought well during World War II. During this conflict, the young Niazi would win a Military Cross and be given the nickname “Tiger” by his superior officer due to his prowess in battle against Japanese forces. His Military Cross was earned for actions along the border with Burma, in which he showed great leadership, judgment, quick-thinking, and calm under pressure.

He would join the newly-formed Pakistani Army after Independence in 1947 and quickly rose through the ranks, earning various awards including the Hilal-e-Jurat twice. By 1971 he had reached the rank of Lieutenant-General. He was sent in that year to East Pakistan in April following a Pakistani military crack down on Bengali intellectuals. The army leader in East Pakistan at that time Tikka Khan was thought to be behind the implementation of the crack down, and Niazi had condemned the action. Despite this, the situation in the East was difficult, as Bengali forces in the Pakistani Army had gone into mutiny, large segments of the population were hostile, and an independence movement was gaining steam among the Bengalis. Despite this, Niazi was able to reaffirm Pakistani control over wide parts of East Pakistani territory, opening the window for a political solution to the turmoil – this would not come to fruition.

The crack-down against the Bengalis had gone too far, and the result saw Pakistani forces involved in a guerrilla war with Bengali Mukti Bahini who were aided by India. This would lead to later Indian involvement in the conflict, and a full-scale invasion of the Eastern wing of Pakistan by India, resulting in isolation for Niazi’s forces, and with the absence of external aid, eventual surrender.

On December 16, 1971, General Niazi surrendered all Pakistani forces in East Pakistan to Indian General Jagjit Singh Aurora. Niazi along with a sizable number of Pakistani soldiers were taken prisoner, and many would not be freed until two years later, with Niazi symbolically being the last prisoner of war to cross back to Pakistan. Such actions symbolized his reputation as a “soldier’s general” but did not shield him from the scorn he faced upon his return to Pakistan, where he was viewed as a scapegoat.

Niazi was stripped of his military rank, and the pension usually accorded to retired soldiers. In order to clear his name, Niazi sought a court martial, but it was never granted. The former general would try to take up politics in order to clear himself, but he was jailed in order to quell such actions. In 1998 he released The Betrayal of East Pakistan where he blamed Yahya Khan and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto for the separation of East Pakistan. ”

Excerpt from Times Online UK:

“Pakistani general who fought the overwhelming might of India in Bengal in 1971 and was never forgiven by his country for losing.”

March 11, 2004

A SINGLE day in the life of Lieutenant-General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi of Pakistan overshadowed a distinguished career and cast a pall over the rest of his life. On December 16, 1971, Niazi, as commander of the Eastern Command, signed the surrender document that ended the 1971 war between India and Pakistan in East Pakistan (Bangladesh).

That moment made him a focus for India’s triumphalism, Bangladesh’s hatred for West Pakistan and Pakistan’s humiliation.

In the bitter break-up of Pakistan the public forgot that as a young officer in the British Indian Army, Niazi had won an on-the-spot Military Cross for exceptional bravery after action on June 11, 1944, in the Kekrima area of the Assam-Burma front.
That spring, the 14th Army under General Slim had halted the advance of the Japanese at the battle of Imphal and elsewhere in bitterly fought actions along the Burma front.

Describing Niazi’s gallantry in the citation for the MC, his commanding officers wrote at length of his judgment about the best course of action, which they accepted, his skill in taking the enemy completely by surprise, as well as his personal leadership of his men, coolness under fire, ability to change tactics, create diversions, extricate his wounded and withdraw his men. At the Bauthi-Daung tunnels, Niazi impressed his commanding officers so much that they wanted to award a DSO. He was, however, too junior. A “mention” had to suffice.

The nickname “Tiger” was given him by Brigadier D. F. W. Warren, commander of 161 Infantry Brigade, after a ferocious fight with the Japanese.

After independence Niazi became a highly decorated general in the Pakistan Army, twice receiving Pakistan’s highest military honour, the Hilal-e-Jurat. When he was sent to East Pakistan in April 1971, General Tikka Khan had already launched a brutal crackdown against Bengali rebels. Niazi condemned this but was saddled with the consequences: mutiny among Bengali regiments, a totally hostile population and Pakistan’s tarnished reputation.

Yet, in a couple of months under him the Eastern Command systematically regained the territory, creating the opportunity for a political settlement — though none was ever achieved.

Instead Niazi and his men found themselves fighting a protracted guerrilla war against Bengalis, aided by India and eventually involved in a full-scale war with India. The small, battle-weary Eastern Command, cut off from headquarters, with meagre resources, put up a valiant fight against India’s overwhelming might, but the outcome of such a contest was never in doubt. Pakistan’s failure to secure external assistance or UN intervention sealed its fate.

Niazi’s reputation as a “soldier’s general” lasted to the end. After spending two years as a prisoner of war in India, he was the last to cross the border after the repatriation of prisoners. He then found himself vilified in his own country for losing the war with India.

His requests for a court martial to clear his name were never granted. He was removed from the army and stripped of pensions, without trial. When he entered politics to try to be heard, he was jailed.

Niazi was born in a Pathan family in Punjab. He lived his last years quietly in Lahore. His memoir, The Betrayal of East Pakistan, was published in 1998.

His wife predeceased him. He is survived by their five children.”

More on this in Part-2 of this post.