Pakistani troops surrendered to allied Indian and Bangladesh forces on December 16, 1971 evening after a brief negotiation, the prelude of which has been sketched by a former Indian military captain describing first moments of victor's interactions with the defeated army.

The then young captain Nirbhay Sharma, who subsequently became a lieutenant general, said he was in the first group of Indian soldiers to step into Dhaka city as part of advanced allied troops. 

Decades after the episode he came up with a signed memoir, describing a little known story of events of the first hours of the day, acknowledging that Bangladesh's freedom fighter Abdul Kader Siddique also accompanied the advanced allied troops.

Sharma, who later served as India's governor of Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram, said they had entered "Dacca" through the Mirpur Bridge to make their way to Pakistan's military headquarters. 

But some events upset their first attempt to reach Pakistani commander Lieutenant General AAK Niazi, to whom they, however, reached subsequently carrying a message from Major General Gandharv Nagra, India's general officer commanding for 1010 area.

Sharma said on their second journey, this time along with his commanding officer of India's 2 Para Battalion Colonel Pannu and few others, they succeeded in reaching the message, again as the "first troops" to enter the enemy held Dhaka Cantonment. 

"While the battalion made a triumphant entry, Colonel Pannu, with me and a few other officers, made a dash to General Niazi at his headquarters," read Sharma's article, appeared in India's The Print newspaper. 

"As we entered Pakistan's Eastern Command Headquarters and parked our jeeps next to General Niazi's office, a smartly attired, tall and well-built soldier confronted us," he wrote.

Sharma added that the "stick orderly standing guard" blocked the Indians entry into the office as he was quite unaware of the goings-on and did not know "what to do or say".

"He asked us not to park our jeeps in the space reserved exclusively for his general. We pushed him aside and barged into the general's room," Sharma wrote.

He recalled that Colonel Pannu "looked hard at Niazi and the latter could not meet his gaze" while the "unshaven" top Pakistani general held his head in both hands with despair.

"I clearly remember his mumblings - "Pindi mein baithe haramzaadon ne marva diya (Those sitting in Rawalpindi have let us down)".

He said that Rawalpindi kept fooling him until that morning that "help was on the way".

Sharma, the adjutant of the Indian battalion at Dhaka's doorstep, recalled that their troops took the enemy by surprise knocking at the doors of Dhaka at Mirpur Bridge point on the midnight of 15-16 December while shelling and desultory firing continued till December 16 morning.

He said Nagra earlier landed at the scene in the morning and "informed us that the Pakistani Army had agreed to surrender and we were to take a message for Lt General AAK Niazi".

The message read: “My dear Abdullah, I am here. The game is up, I suggest you give yourself up to me and I will take care of you.”

According to Sharma, Nagra's aide de camp Captain Hitesh Mehta was asked to accompany him while Pakistani troops were on position on other side of the bridge.

Initially the two captains got into a jeep with Nagra's handwritten message for Niazi, who was acquainted to the Indian general since their early age and "were on first-name basis".

Sharma said as they moved to the jeep, two other officers, Major JS Sethi and Lieutenant Tejinder Singh jumped into the vehicle.

"Oblivious to the impending danger, all of us were excited at the thought of moving into Dhaka with the message of surrender and making history," Sharma wrote.

But, he recalled, little did they, young officers, knew at the time that the Pakistan army on the other side had not received instructions to surrender and so "they opened fire as we crossed the bridge. We stopped".

"Collecting all my wits, I shouted to tell them to stop firing. The firing stopped" but immediately the enemy soldiers surrounded and disarmed the small Indian detachment, he wrote.

The Indian officers then asked a Pakistani junior commissioned officer (JCO) to call a senior officer while Sharma simultaneously threatened him with dire consequences if they tried harming them saying, the Indian army surrounded Dhaka and their general had agreed to surrender.

According to Sharma, fortunately soon a Pakistani captain arrived and took the detachment to the Mirpur Garrison where its commander asked them to wait and nearly an hour later Major General Mohammad Jamshed, GOC of Dhaka Garrison arrived there.

Along with Jamshed they returned to Mirpur Bridge in their Indian army jeep while a Pakistani one followed them and on their way back "we were fired upon again, neither side knowing who we were".

He said Major Sethi received a medium machine gun burst on his left leg and another bullet pierced the helmet of Singh right in the middle, though was fortunately deflected but "the situation was restored and we reached our side of the bridge".

Talking to BSS Kader Siddique recalled that a white shirt was hoisted atop the Indian army jeep that carried the junior Indian officers as no white flag was available instantly and on their way back to the Mirpur Bridge somehow was dropped somewhere leaving them unprotected that draw the enemy fires.

Sharma wrote, shortly thereafter, at 10:42 am, being accompanied by Pakistani officers, the Indian officers' detachment reentered Dhaka to hand over Niazi the Nagra's chit.

Pakistani military spokesman Major Siddiq Salik in his "Witness to Surrender" said receiving Nagra's message Niazi briefly discussed the situation with senior generals present, including navy's top commander in East Pakistan Rear Admiral Mohamad Shariff and Major General Rao Farman Ali.

They both, he said, suggested Niazi to give up and respond to Nagra's call as Pakistani side did not have enough strength to defend "Dacca".

"General Niazi sent Major General Jamshed to receive Nagra," Salik wrote.

Kader Siddique's account

Talking to BSS, Siddique said Jamshed came to the scene in a Mercedes car followed by several Pakistani military vehicles and Nagra and two other Indian brigadiers, San Singh and Klair and he himself got on board the car's backseat.

He said Jamshed sat on the front seat beside the driver on their way to Dhaka Cantonment and halted briefly at Jamshed's makeshift office at Dhaka Residential School, from where they tried to make a phone to Niazi but found the line to be dead.

The delegation then went straight to Dhaka Cantonment and was received by a Pakistani captain at Niazi's office who told them the general would come there shortly.

"After 4 or 5 minutes Niazi came and the two sides saluted each other and shook hands . . . I could not extend my hand to shake his (Niazi's) hand," Siddique said.

The 1971 war documents suggest nearly an hour later the formal surrender negotiations took place after Indian Eastern Front's general staff chief Major General JFR Jacob arrived at Niazi's headquarters.

: BSS

Last week, widespread violence and destruction unfolded across Bangladesh, centered in Dhaka. This has raised a pertinent question: Is Bangladesh witnessing the rise of extremism akin to the Taliban? Is Bangladesh potentially becoming a second home for the Taliban?

From July 17th to July 21st, incidents of unrest and violence have occurred across the country. Upon analysis, it is evident that the main instigators behind all these events are the anti-independence Jamaat, Shibir, and some militant organizations. Evidence suggests that professional militants have attacked various important establishments such as BTV, Metro Rail, and Elevated Expressway. Particularly concerning is the incident where militants managed to escape from Narshingdi jail, which raises several questions.

During this agitation (quota reform movement), BNP and its student wing were certainly involved, but they were supportive forces. Towards the end, with hopes of profiting and causing the government's downfall, they appeared on the field as allies of Jamaat-Shibir's B Team. However, the entire planning and execution of this movement were orchestrated by Jamaat, Shibir, and professional militants. This raises the question whether Bangladesh is witnessing a resurgence of terrorism. Because all these incidents have been orchestrated in such a manner that they couldn't have been carried out without the involvement of trained terrorists. This incident has made it clear that in Bangladesh, extremist, blind faith-driven, and reactionary groups remain active and have abundant weapons at their disposal.

In Bangladesh, there have been various instances of attempts to promote terrorism. Particularly in 2001, after the BNP-Jamaat alliance came to power, terrorism was encouraged and supported.

Research reveals that during that time, Bangla Bhai, along with Sheikh Abdur Rahman, led all the terrorists, who were under the parole of Jamaat and controlled by Jamaat. All these militant organizations orchestrated bomb attacks nationwide at that time. They carried out bomb attacks in court premises. Subsequently, various efforts were made gradually to curb terrorism. Upon assuming power, the Awami League government took a stern stance against terrorism. However, the Holy Artisan incident opened everyone's eyes. It became evident that terrorism still maintains a strong presence in Bangladesh.

After the Holy Artisan incident, the government adopted a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism and granted special importance to counterterrorism efforts. However, this did not eradicate terrorism completely. Terrorists became active from various locations, especially in the hilly areas where there have been reports of terrorist training camps. Due to all these reasons, it is believed that terrorists have reorganized and are attempting to overthrow the government. Following the unrest in July, it seems terrorists are now more organized than ever before. Therefore, they must be thwarted immediately. Failure to do so may turn Bangladesh into another Afghanistan in the days to come.

Citing clashes and fatalities at various universities across the country over the quota reform movement, Islamic University (IU) has been closed indefinitely, prioritizing the safety of its students.

This decision was made at the 264th emergency syndicate meeting held on Wednesday (July 17th) at 10:30 AM, presided over by the Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Shaikh Abdus Salam.

A notice was issued, signed by IU acting registrar HM Ali Hasan in this regard.

Registrar’s Office Sources informed that considering the unforeseen circumstances arising at various educational institutions across the country, all academic activities of Islamic University will remain suspended until further notice, prioritizing the overall safety of the students. Male students have been instructed to vacate their hall by 1:00 PM on July 17 and female students by Thursday (18th July) 10:00 AM.

At least nine people were killed and several others injured as a microbus, carrying a bridal party, plunged into a river after a bridge collapse in Amtali upazila of the district today.

The deceased were identified as Rubia ,45, wife of Rakibul Howladar, Raiti Khan,22, wife of Sohail Khan, Fatema,35, wife of Babul Matbar, Shahnaz Akhtar, 37, wife of Abul Kalam, and her  two daughters Tahiyat Mejbin, 7, and Tasfia Mubassera, 12, Farida Begum,48,  wife of Fazlur Rahman Khan, residents of  Kokararchar village of  Shibchar upazila in  Madaripur district,  Zakia, 35 ,   wife of Zahirul Islam and her  daughter Rukaid Islam, 5, resident of Taktabunia village of Amtali Upazila Haldia Union in Barguna district.

The accident occurred when they were going to attend a wedding ceremony in Amtali Municipal Town on a microbus while crossing the connecting bridge of Chawra Union and Haldia Union of the upazila around 2:30 pm this afternoon as the bridge collapsed into the Subandhi river, leaving at least 20 people injured, officer-in-charge (OC) of Amtali Police Station Kazi Tofazzal Hossain Tapu said.

Later, fire service and police personnel rescued the injured and took them to Amtali Upazila Health Complex where on-duty doctor declared nine of them dead, he said.

Golam Sarwar Tuku, MP of Barguna-1 constituency and Deputy Commissioner Rafiqul Islam visited the spot.

The bodies will be handed over to theirs family members after legal process, The OC added.

(Source: BSS)

The outgoing Chief of Army Staff General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed received farewell ‘darbar’ here today.

He also exchanged views with the military officers, junior commissioned officers (JCOs) and other army personnel of different ranks, according to an ISPR press release.

Army personnel from all cantonments participated in the darbar through Video teleconferencing (VTC), the release added.

In his farewell address, the Army Chief expressed his special gratitude to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, saying that the Bangladesh Army has stood with its head high before the world today as a modern and smart force due to the sincere efforts of the premier.

He also expressed his sincere gratitude to all concerned for their full cooperation during discharging duties.

(Source: BSS)

A devastating floods in Sylhet and Sunamganj inundated much of two northeastern districts leaving over 17 lakh people stranded and damaging standing crops and infrastructures.

 
Residents and officials of local administrations told BSS that 17,57,222 people have been marooned in Sylhet and Sunamganj districts as this year's second spell of flood submerged vast swaths of the two district creating huge suffering of the people.
 
Among the total people, who are marooned by flood water, 7.92 lakh people are in Sunamganj and 9.64 lakh people are in Sylhet, they added.
 
Officials of Sylhet district administration said the first spell of flood affected thousands of people in 13 upazilas and municipalities of Sytlhet district in late May and the flash flood prolonged first week of the current months leaving a large number of people marooned.
 
The authorities have set up 6,392 shelter centres after the second round of flood hit Sylhet and Sunamganj districts. As flood water started receding, people are going to home from shelter centres.
 
The Sunamganj district administration sources said flood water submerged 11 upazilas and Sunamgaj municipality.

Mayor of Sylhet City Corporation Anwaruzzaman Choudhury said, "Volunteer teams of city corporation are working to extend assistances for flood-hit people. We have arranged adequate amount of food at shelter centres."

A devastating flood, triggered by heavy rainfall and onrush water from hilly regions, have affected 20 lakh people in Sylhet and Sunamganj districts, according to a statement of UNICEF issued today.

 The statement, signed by Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh, read among 20 lakh flood affected people in two northeastern regions - Sylhet and Sunamganj - 7.72 lakh are children.
 
The UNICEF called for emergency assistances for flood-hit children as they (children) are the venerable segment of the population in case of any natural disaster.

Sheldon Yett said, "When flood waters are in rising trend, unsecured condition has created for children. They face different problems including drowning, malnutrition and various water-borne diseases."

The UNICEF in cooperation with of Bangladesh government and other organization working at field level have distributed safe drinking water among one lakh flood-hit people in Sylhet and Sunamganj to reduce their suffering.

Alongside distribution of drinking water, the UNICEF also distributed over 10 litre capacity 3000 water pots for the people in food-hit regions.

According to the UNICEF statement, 810 primary schools in Sylhet Division have been submerged by flood water while 500 primary schools are used as shelter centre for flood-affected people. As many as 140 community clinics have been damaged by flood waters in the Sylhet region, it added.
 
 Water levels at 59 river stations monitored by Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) have marked rise while 48 stations recorded fall.

Among the 110 monitored river stations, two have been registered steady and water levels at seven river stations are flowing above the danger level, a bulletin issued by the FFWC said here today.

The Teesta River is flowing at 15cm above danger level at Kaunia station while the Surma at Kanaighat, the Kushiyara at Amalsad, at Sherpur-Sylhet and at Markuli, the Old Surma at Derai and the Someshwari at Kalmakanda are flowing 35cm, 15cm, 18cm, 39cm, 23cm and 34cm are flowing respectively.

The Ganges-Padma rivers are in rising trend, which may continue in the next 72 hours, the bulletin said, adding that the major rivers in the North-eastern region of the country are in falling trend which may continue in the next 72 hours.

Overall improvement of the flood situation in various low-lying areas under districts of the North-eastern part of the country may continue in the next 72 hours.

According to the information from meteorological organisations, low to medium rainfall in next 24 hours and medium to heavy rainfall in the next 48 to 72 hours is expected in the Northern and adjoining upstream parts of the country.

As a result, the water level of Dudhkumar, Teesta and Dharla rivers in those regions may fall in the next 24 hours which may rise in particular time in the next 48 to 72 hours.