On December 16, 1971 this day, 48 years ago, 93,000 members of Pakistani troops raised white flags and surrendered to Indian Army and Mukti Bahini, calling an end to the Indo-Pak war of 1971.
Represenrtational Image (File Photo: AFP)
The widows and families of the martyrs of the 1971 war were felicitated by the Army on Monday as it celebrated Vijay Diwas in Kashmir.
The ceremony was held at Army 15 Corps Headquarters at Badami Bagh Cantonment in Srinagar.
The celebration began with a wreath laying at the war memorial in the cantonment by Lt General KJS Dhillon.] Senior officers and jawans also paid homage to the fallen soldiers of the war that saw the birth of Bangladesh.
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The corps commander then felicitated the families of the soldiers who laid down their lives for the country.
Dhillon said, “2019 is a year dedicated to the families of the next of kin of the fallen soldiers. I want to pay my homage to the families of the soldiers who died in the 1971 war.”
Among those felicitated was Khatija, widow of fallen soldier Ghulam Mohammad Dar.
She said the Army has been supporting her all along.
“My son is jobless, I am hopeful that the army will help him find a job,” she said.
Bashir Ahmad Khan from Kupwara, whose father, Mohamamd Sultan Khan Naib Subedar died in the Kargil sector during the war, said it is a moment of great pride.
“Our father served the country, I am feeling very proud of my father’s sacrifice today,” Ahmad said.
On December 16, 1971 this day, 48 years ago, 93,000 members of Pakistani troops raised white flags and surrendered to Indian Army and Mukti Bahini, calling an end to the Indo-Pak war of 1971.
Lt. General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, the then Eastern Command chief of the Pakistani forces, surrendered unconditionally after conceding defeat India’s Lt. General Jagjit Singh Aurora in Dacca (now Dhaka).
This conflict was a result of the Bangladesh Liberation war, when Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) was fighting to seek freedom from (West) Pakistan.
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