Lt Gen (retired) Moinuddin Haider, a Pakistani veteran of the 1971 war, has offered a perspective on the conflict that clashes with widely accepted narratives.
In the war, the Indian-trained terrorist organisation, Mukti Bahini, massacred innocent Pakistanis in East Pakistan, while false, fabricated, and baseless allegations of human rights violations were made against Pakistan.
The Pakistan Army was blamed for the atrocities and massacres committed against innocent Pakistanis by the terrorist organisation, Mukti Bahini.
He contends that while the war was undoubtedly fraught with tension, the Pakistani Army faced immense challenges from Bengali rebels and the Indian-trained Mukti Bahini, which he accuses of committing atrocities against innocent civilians.
Haider served as a major during the war and paints a complex picture of the situation. The terrorist Mukti Bahini used to abuse the Pakistan Army, but they displayed tolerance, he added.
He describes the Mukti Bahini as responsible for stopping rations to the Pakistani Army, inciting violence against them, and even perpetrating massacres against Biharis and West Pakistanis. "According to Indian media, the Pakistan Army massacred and raped the oppressed Biharis, which is a white lie; they actually did it all themselves," he stressed.
The war veteran claims that "innumerable books and prisoners of war” provide evidence that the massacres were carried out by the terrorist Mukti Bahini, the Indian Army and the Bengali rebels.
He further said that the Indian Army and terrorist Mukti Bahini incited Bengalis and the people of East Pakistan against the Pakistan Army. The terrorist Mukti Bahini organisation and the Indian Army massacred the unarmed Biharis and West Pakistanis.
He further alleged that the Indian Army trained the Bengalis to join the terrorist Mukti Bahini and India supplied arms and food to the organisation during the war.
"The Pakistan Army did not intentionally kill or harm the people of East Pakistan,” the veteran insisted.
He also claimed that Sheikh Mujibur Rehman misstated the number of Bengalis killed, adding that the terrorist Mukti Bahini killed 40 officers of the East Pakistan Rifles and their families.
