16th December

 

In 1971, Bangladesh fought the Bangladesh Liberation War against Pakistan to become an Independent country, which resulted in the secession of East Pakistan from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and established the sovereign nation called Bangladesh.^[4][3] The war pitted East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan, and lasted for a duration of nine months.^[5] One of the most violent wars of the 20th century, it witnessed the Bangladesh genocide by the Pakistani military which included the exodus of 10 million refugees to India and the killing of 3 million people by the Pakistani armed forces.^[6][7]

On 16 December 1971, Lieutenant General A. A. K. Niazi, CO of Pakistan Armed Forces located in East Pakistan signed the Pakistani Instrument of Surrender. The Instrument of Surrender was a written agreement that enabled the surrender of the Pakistan Eastern Command in the Bangladesh Liberation War, and marked the end of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 in the Eastern Theater.