Al-Badr (East Pakistan)
The Al-Badr (Bengali: আল বদর, originally from the Arabic: البدر meaning full moon) was a paramilitary wing of the West Pakistan Army, which operated in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) against the Bengali nationalist movement during the Bangladesh Liberation War.[1]
Members of Al-Badr were recruited from public schools and madrasas (religious schools). The unit was used for raids and special operations;[1] the West Pakistan army command initially planned to use the locally recruited militias (Al-Badr, Razakar, Al-Shams) for policing cities of East Pakistan, and regular army units to defend the border with India[2]. Most members of Al-Badr appear to have been Biharis.[3]
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[edit] Background
The name of the paramilitary formation, Al-Badr, may refer to the Battle of Badr.
Together with the Razakar and Al-Shams, Al-Badr was formed in order to counter the guerrila activities of the Mukti Bahini which grew increasingly organised and militarily successful during in the second half of 1971. All three groups operated under Pakistani command,[4] although Al-Badr is alleged to have been affilated with the East Pakistan Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami.[5] It never became an effective military force due to lack of trained military personnel, resources for training recruits, and arms.[6] Many members of Al-Badr appear to have switched sides and joined the Mukti Bahini soon after completing their training .[7]
[edit] Abolition
After the surrender of the West Pakistani army on December 16, 1971, Al-Badr was dissolved together with the Razakar and Al-Shams.
[edit] Allegations of war crimes
It is alleged that Al-Badr perpetrated atrocities against civilians during the war of 1971, in particular, the massacre of intellectuals in Dhaka that occurred on December 15, 1971.[8] The group was banned by the independent government of Bangladesh, but most of its members had fled the country during and after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
[edit] References
- ^ a b R. Sisson and L. E. Rose. Pakistan, India, and the Creation of Bangladesh, University of California Press, 1990, p. 165.
- ^ A. R. Siddiqui, East Pakistan - the Endgame: An Onlooker's Journal 1969-1971, Oxford University Press, 2004.
- ^ Siddiqui 1990, p. 153.
- ^ Opposition Leader Sheikh Hasina’s parliamentary speech given on 16 April 1992 on the subject of Golam Azam and the public tribunal, in DOCUMENTS ON CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY COMMITTED BY PAKISTAN ARMY AND THEIR AGENTS IN BANGLADESH DURING 1971 137 (1999–2002)
- ^ INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF JURISTS, THE EVENTS IN PAKISTAN: A LEGAL STUDY BY THE SECRETARIAT OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF JURISTS 9 (1972)
- ^ Sisson 1990, p. 165.
- ^ Siddiqui 2004, p. 167.
- ^ P. Hazelhurst in The Times, Jan 3, 1972, p. 4.
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