1971 Pakistan Military Officer's Revolt

The plan to separate East Pakistan from Pakistan had been in plans since 1962 when then president Ayub Khan had requested assistance of West Pakistani politician Abdul Wali Khan to ensure a breakup of Pakistan into two parts, but he refused and insisted to work against him. Ayub also offered an independent East Pakistan to Muhammad Ibrahim, who was the minister of law in Pakistan and a Bengali. Ayub removed Ibrahim because of his refusal and replaced him with Muhammad Munir, who was supportive of Ayub in his attempt to break up Pakistan.^[4][5][6]

During Operation Searchlight in 1971, civilians were killed and raped and Bengali nationalists retributed in equal amounts of violence on the non-Bengali Muhajir community. Due to Operation Searchlight, the Bengali Police and Military personnel mutinied and thus the start of the Bangladesh Liberation War.^[7]

When the news of Pakistan's surrender was broadcast by West Pakistani media, the spontaneous and overwhelming public anger over the nation's defeat by Bangladeshi rebels and the Indian Army, and over the breakup of Pakistan into two parts, boiled into street demonstrations throughout Pakistan.^[8]

On 17 December 1971 just one day after the surrender by Eastern Command, Brigadier F.B. Ali, who was an Army officer, wrote his resignation letter accepting his own responsibility for the loss of East Pakistan and expected that Yahya Khan and his advisors would follow suit and also resign. But the next day Ali had heard that Yahya was planning to create a new constitution, which infuriated Ali. Brigadier Ali determined that the loss of the war with India was enough and that it was imperative to get rid of Yahya's military junta. He picked up Brigadier Iqbal Mehdi Shah, Colonel Aleem Afridi, Colonel Agha Javed Iqbal, Lt Col Khursheed, and other officers and told them that they owed it to Pakistan to get rid of the discredited junta and hand over power to the elected civilian representatives of 1970 Pakistani general election.^[1]

All officers present, agreed. However, there was a problem as Maj Gen Bashir "Ranghar", Major General R.D. Shamim, and Major General "Bachoo" Karim were in Gujranwala and had the authority to counter F.B. Ali's orders.^[1]

On 19 December 1971, F.B. Ali arrested the three generals and seized command of Major General "Bachoo" Karim's 6th Armoured Division. Ali then sent Colonels Aleem Afridi and Agha Javed Iqbal to deliver a letter demanding Yahya Khan's resignation by 8 PM that night for being responsible for the loss of East Pakistan. The two colonels took the letter to CGS Gul Hassan, who initially felt saddened by the defeat in the war and told them that he planned to leave the army. However, upon learning about the contents of the letter from the two Colonels, Hassan's mood brightened, and he went to Air Marshal Abdur Rahim Khan. Hassan told Colonel Aleem Afridi and Colonel Agha Javed Iqbal to sit in Major Javed Nasir's office.^[1]

Earlier in the day, during an address by General Abdul Hamid Khan in Gujranwala, young officers, led by Brigadier Fazal-e-Rasiq Khan, unleashed a barrage of insults in English, Urdu, and Punjabi towards Abdul Hamid, Yahya Khan, and other superiors. They called them "bloody bastards," "debauches," and "drunkards," expressing their deep frustration.^[1]