Prisoners of war in the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971

After conceding defeat and accession of the instrument of surrender in 1971, the Indian Army took the responsibility to protect Pakistan's joint servicemen in East-Pakistan. In December 1971, the Provisional Government of Bangladesh had shown their intention to India regarding the war prisoners, creating controversy between India and Bangladesh, as Bangladeshis wanted to hold the cases on the Pakistani servicemen who would be charged with the crimes against humanity in their special courts, and strongly opposed the Indian Army's plan for transferring war prisoners. In 1973, the majority of the war prisoners were then shifted to Red Fort and Gwalior Fort in New Delhi. Since 1978, some Indian government officials have claimed that about 54 Indian soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces went missing in action during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and that they are secretly held by Pakistan. Pakistan denies the existence of such prisoners of war. ==Notable Pakistani POWs==

• Lt-Gen. Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, PA, Commander of Eastern Command. • R.-Adm Mohammad Shariff, PN, later four-star admiral and Chairman joint chiefs in 1980. • Maj-Gen. Rao Farman Ali, military adviser and chairman of Fauji Foundation in the 1970s. • Air-Cdre Inamul Haque, PAF pilot, later three-star rank air force general and politician • Maj-Gen. Mohammad Jamshed, PA • Capt. Ahmad Zamir, CO PM in East, later appointed as Vice-Admiral in the Navy. • Gp-Capt. Zulfiqar Ali Khan, PAF pilot and later four-star rank air force general. • Lt-Cdr. Mansurul Haq, PN, four-star admiral in the Navy. • Flt-Lt. PQ Mehdi– the PAF pilot who shot down, first POW, ascended as four-star rank air force general, Air Chief Marshal, and chief of air staff in 2000. • Lt. Shahid Karimullah, PN, four-star admiral in the Pakistan Navy in 2005. • Maj. K.M. Arif, PA, four-star rank army general and vice-chief of army staff 1987. • Cdr. T.K. Khan, PN, four-star admiral in 1983. • Maj. Siddique Salik, PA, later one-star rank army general and DG of Inter-Services Public Relations in 1988 • Capt. Ikram Sehgal, first to escape the prison camp. • Lt-Col. Raja Nadir Pervez, PM, politician. • Cdr. Iqbal F. Quadir, PN, analyst and later ascended as vice-admiral and vice naval chief in 1983. • Lt. Abdul Aziz Mirza, PN, later ascended as four-star admiral in 2002. • Capt. Jamshed Gulzar Kiani, PA later ascended as three-star rank army general. • Lt. T.M. Khattak, PN, three-star rank admiral in the Navy • Lt-Cdr Shamoon Alam Khan, PN and ISI officer, diplomat and later three-star rank admiral in the Navy. ==Foreign relations impact==

The foreign reaction to India's taking of these 90,000 POWs varied from nation to nation. The United Nations supported India's move as they condemned the human rights violations the Pakistani Armed Forces inflicted upon Bangladeshis. As a result, the U.N. was quick to accept Bangladesh's independence. Bhutan became the second country after India to recognize Bangladesh's independence, and did so with no issues. The United States, however, was an ally of Pakistan both materially and politically, and as a result, they did not support India's taking of 90,000 Pakistani POWs. The U.S. saw India's actions as threatening, especially since India had just become a nuclear power and maintained close military ties with the U.S.S.R. The Soviet Union supported both the armies of Bangladesh and India and thus supported Bangladesh's unwaveringly. As a result of Soviet support, all nations that were part of the Warsaw Pact also recognized Bangladesh's independence. Soviet backing ensured that the states in the U.S.S.R.'s sphere of influence, including Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania, all recognized Bangladesh's independence. China, despite being a communist nation, was also an ally of Pakistan and did not support the measures India took to have Bangladeshi sovereignty recognized. China even went as far as vetoing Bangladesh's application to become a member of the United Nations and was one of the last nations in the world to recognize Bangladeshi independence, not doing so until 31 August 1975. ==See also==