Daily Times

This book is the history of the last chapter of the united Pakistan in 1971. Ikram Sehgal is in a unique position to write about the separation of the eastern wing of Pakistan and emergence of the independent Bangladesh. His father was Punjabi and mother Bengali. He had personal relations with Bengali and non-Bengali senior political and military leaders. He understands the passions involved on both sides. In addition, he was a young army officer and served in both theatres of war in 1971. He had a front row seat to the final act of the tragedy, and he gives his side of the story candidly.

The first few chapters give details of social, political and economic differences between the two wings. It then highlights the events that gradually widened the gulf, and then there are details about the final days of the united Pakistan and emergence of the independent Bangladesh. Sehgal also narrates his personal experience in the 1971 war and many brushes with the angel of death.

This book highlights, for the first time, the role of the 1965 Pakistan-India war in almost complete alienation of the Bengali public. On a psychological level, separation was complete after the war as almost all Bengalis were shocked to see that West Pakistan risked fifty-five percent of its Bengali population surrounded by India on three sides and with very meagre resources to defend itself against India for a few hundred thousand Kashmiris.

Civilian and military leadership dominated by West Pakistanis never understood the Bengali viewpoint. The defence doctrine of the ‘defence of east Pakistan from west Pakistan’ was never seriously evaluated in the broader context of national security. If one region of the country arrogates itself the title of the ‘heart of the country’ and relegate another region as the less important ‘periphery’, it is bound to have serious reservations from the entity relegated as the periphery. That was the reason that this doctrine was viewed as absurd from the Bengali point of view.

In discussing Pakistan’s 18 Infantry Division operations in the western desert, the authors raise the question of why Jacobabad airfield was not activated regardless of whether the GHQ asked for it or not. Air Commodore (Retd) Sajjad Haider has provided the answer in his memoirs Flight of The Falcon. Air Chief Air Marshal Rahim Khan visited the army headquarter on December 4,1971 and was informed by Chief of General Staff (CSG) Lieutenant General Gul Hassan about the attack of 18 Division in south-west towards the Indian city of Jaisalmer.

This book highlights, for the first time, the role of the 1965 Pakistan-India war in almost complete alienation of the Bengali public

Air Chief protested and informed him that the closest Pakistan Air Force (PAF) bases of Sargodha and Karachi were over 300 miles away. He also explained that the Jacobabad airfield could not be activated due to paucity of resources, and even if agreed upon, the PAF needed ten days to activate the airfield. He also informed the CGS that the Indian Air Force had three air bases in that area that could play havoc with the advancing Pakistani troops without air cover. The army went ahead with the operation despite the Air Chief’s warning and hence the disaster.

There is a minor error regarding US base in Pakistan. It is mentioned that the U-2 surveillance flights operated from Badaber Air Station near Peshawar. Badaber was only a listening post and not an airfield. It was an electronic listening facility run by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the project was code named ‘Operation Sandbag’. Peshawar and Lahore airfields were used for U-2 surveillance flights. There was no permanent stationing of U-2 planes in Pakistan.

Detachment 10-10 based at Incirlik, Turkey, flew missions from Pakistan. U-2 pilots and some ground personnel were flown in a C-130 plane to Pakistan a day before the flight. A standby pilot brought U-2 from Incirlik to Lahore or Peshawar. In four years, there were only twenty-four U-2 overflights. Out of these twenty-four, ten originated from Pakistan, five from Lahore and five from Peshawar. I have written a detailed piece about these missions titled “Eye in the Sky”.

This book adds to the literature of the 1971 Pakistan-Indiawar and independence of Bangladesh by a first-hand witness. The book is a must read for everyone interested in the history of Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The reviewer can be reached at coeusconsultant@optonline.net