Pakistani Instrument of Surrender


The Pakistani Instrument of Surrender was a written agreement that enabled the surrender of the Pakistan Armed Forces Eastern Command on 16 December 1971, thereby ending the Bangladesh Liberation War. The signing of the document marked the end of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and the creation of the nation of Bangladesh.
The day is commemorated as Victory Day, a national holiday, in Bangladesh; and as Vijay Diwas on the Indian military calendar.

Surrender ceremony

The surrender ceremony took place at the Ramna Race Course garden in Dhaka on 16 December 1971. Lieutenant-General A A K Niazi, Martial Law Administrator of East Pakistan, surrendered to Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, Joint Commander of Indian and Bangladeshi Forces. Air Commodore A. K. Khandker, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Bangladesh Forces, represented the Provisional Government of Bangladesh at the surrender.
Also present were Rear-Admiral Mohammad Shariff, Commander of the Pakistani Naval Eastern Command and Air Vice-Marshal Patrick D. Callaghan of the Pakistan Air Force's Eastern Air Force Command, who signed the agreement. Lt. Gen Sagat Singh, Commander of the Indian IV Corps, Air Marshal Hari Chand Dewan, Commander of Indian Eastern Air Command, Maj Gen JFR Jacob, Chief of Staff of the Indian Eastern Command, acted as witnesses on behalf of India.
Aurora accepted the surrender without a word, while the crowd on the race course erupted in celebrations.

Text of the Instrument

The text of the surrender is now a public property of Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani governments and the text of the document can be seen on display in the National Museum in New Delhi. The text of the Instrument of Surrender document was as follows: