Pakistani crackdown was a response to ‘Mujib Bahini’s killings’: Jamaat leader

Chattogram city Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Muhammad Nazrul Islam claimed that the Pakistani army launched its crackdown on 25 March 1971 in response to mass killings carried out “in different areas by the Mujib Bahini.”

The claim was made at a party gathering organised on the occasion of the Victory Day at Bahaddarhat intersection in the port city on Tuesday.

Addressing the gathering, Nazrul said, “For the last 54 years, we have not been allowed to know the true history of our independence. A narrative taught by India has been imposed on us. The real history of the night of March 25, 1971 has also been concealed. Today, we must recover the dark chapters of history.”

“Following the departure of British in 1947, the new rulers from Pakistan promised us a just, equitable and democratic country guided by Islamic principles. But they miserably failed to live up to the pledge, ultimately forcing us to join the Liberation War,” he said.

“Then, in the 1970 general elections, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman won a majority after pledging to avoid anti-Islamic laws. But the Pakistani establishment were dragging their heels on handing over power, eventually drawing us into a war on 25 March the next year,” he alleged.

“Prior to March 25, the Mujib Bahini carried out mass killings in various areas. In reaction to those killings, the Pakistani army launched the crackdown on March 25. On the night of March 25, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman surrendered to Pakistan and spent his days comfortably in jail. This history must be brought to light.”

Commenting on the political situation at the time, Nazrul said that martyred President Ziaur Rahman later stepped forward to fill the political vacuum.

He also alleged that Indian armed forces fought for a week from 6 December to 12 December, took control of the victory, and occupied Dhaka and major roads across the country.

“Subsequently, under the planning of the Indian army, our finest sons – the intellectuals – were brutally killed on 14 December,” he added.

Raising further questions, he said, “Where was the Liberation War’s Commander-in-Chief General MAG Osmani on the day of victory? Why was he not allowed to sign the surrender document? These are the questions we must seek answers to today.”

The meeting was chaired by Chattogram City Jamaat Organising Secretary Shamsuzzaman Helaly while Secretary Muhammad Nurul Amin, Assistant Secretary Muhammad Ullah, Organising Secretary Dr AKM Fazlul Haque, SM Lutfur Rahman, and Dr Abu Naser spoke among others.