Operation Blitz

Operation Blitz was planned by the Pakistani Military junta in November-December, 1970, after the devastating cyclone hit the East Pakistani coastal areas (present days Bangladesh) in November 1970, which resulted in approximately 5,00,000 deaths and ignited the nationwide unrest following the lack of humanitarian actions and aids by the central government. The government activities was limited in the main city areas and inside the cantonments following the public dissatisfaction.

Pakistani junta planned to re-take the control of those major cities by march 26 of 1971 which was mainly envisioned in this operation, and Operation Searchlight is known to be a sequel of this operation to eliminate any Bengali resistance by brute force, either political or military within one month.

Operation Blitz from Pakistani Point of View

The military action, code named ‘Operation Blitz’, began on March 25, 1971. A brutal campaign of mass murder was unleashed. Rape on a massive scale became a weapon of harrowing repression. This massive brutality was conducted in the traditions of the colonial masters who had set up the army. The Pakistani regiments engaged in the Bengal genocide once practised their trade under General Gracey in Vietnam. General Tikka Khan who became notorious as the ‘Butcher of Bengal’ was a veteran of Montgomery’s army in the North African campaign. General ‘Tiger’ Niazi who signed the act of surrender wrote with pride in his memoirs, “Nickname Tiger was given to me by Brigadier Warren, Commander 161 Infantry Brigade, for my exploits in Burma during World War II.” The main force that assisted the Pakistan Army in Operation Blitz were the vigilantes of the Jamaat-e-Islami organised in semi-fascist organisations, Al-Badar and Al-Shams, bred and sponsored by the CIA. General Hakeem Arshad Qureshi writes in his book, “Maulana Tufail Mohammad (Amir) of the Jamaat-e-Islami visited us after the military action. The Maulana was particularly concerned about the performance of the Razakars (volunteers) belonging to his party.” However, no army — how mighty it may be — can ever defeat a people who have arisen in mass revolt. It is a myth that the Pakistan Army was defeated by the Indian military aggression. It was already paralysed by the mass uprising, general strikes and the armed struggle of the Mukti Bahini and left-wing groups.