Historic Statue of Pakistan's 1971 Surrender Vandalised in Bangladesh Amid Protests

Dhaka: As chaos and unrest grip Bangladesh, reports have emerged claiming that a statue commemorating the Bangladesh liberation has been destroyed. 

The statue, which depicted the historic moment when Pakistan surrendered after the 1971 war, was reportedly vandalized, with images of the broken monument circulating widely on the internet.

The statue symbolized the signing of the 'Instrument of Surrender' by Pakistan Army Major-General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi to the Indian Army and Bangladesh’s Mukti Bahini. Major-General Niazi, along with 93,000 troops, surrendered to Lt General Jagjit Singh Aurora, then General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of India's Eastern Command. This surrender marked the largest military capitulation since World War II and led to the liberation of Bangladesh.

The destruction of the statue has sparked outrage, particularly as it coincides with a broader wave of violence and vandalism targeting Hindu temples and statues across the country. Hindus, who form the largest minority group in the predominantly Muslim nation, have faced numerous attacks on their households, businesses, and places of worship since the political upheaval began.

Crowd not only destroyed the statue of the Liberation hero but also vandalized the statue of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the leader who led Bangladesh to independence from Pakistan in 1971.

The unrest in Bangladesh intensified after the resignation of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, following a student-led protests that left at least 450 people dead. Hasina, who has been accused of murder, forced disappearances, money laundering, and corruption, stepped down as protests reached a deadly peak on the same day and fled to India.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has been vocal in its criticism of Hasina, with senior member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury stating that she must face the law for her alleged crimes. Since the government’s fall, more than 205 incidents of attacks on minority communities have been reported across 52 districts.