FranciscaFortney at 13:35, 15 May 2026

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{{Short description|Order of Battle}}
{{weasel|date=August 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}

On 25 March 1971, the [[Pakistani military]], supported by paramilitary units, launched the [[Operation Searchlight|military operation]] to pacify the muktibahini held areas of [[East Pakistan]], which led to a prolonged conflict with the Bengali [[Mukti Bahini]].<ref>{{harvnb|Salik|1997|pp=87–97}}</ref> Although [[Conventional warfare|conventional]] in nature during March–May 1971, it soon turned into a [[Guerrilla warfare|guerrilla insurgency]] from June of that year. [[Indian Army]] had not directly supported the Bengali resistance but had launched [[Operation Jackpot]] to support the insurgency from May 1971.

The initial deployments of the Pakistan armed forces were to combat and contain the activities of the Mukti Bahini. This was changed over time and by December 1971, 3 Infantry and 2 ad hoc divisions were deployed to face the ''Mitro Bahini''.

==Background: Initial deployments against Mukti Bahini==
[[File:Banoob71.PNG|325px|right|thumb|Order of Battle: Location of Pakistani and Mitro bahini units on 3 December 1971. Some unit locations are not shown. Map not to exact scale]]

From the March 1971, the [[Pakistani military]]'s [[Pakistan Eastern Command|Eastern Command]] under its commander [[Lieutenant-General]] [[AAK Niazi|A.A.K. Niazi]], started [[Pakistani military deployments|military deployment]] to provide the defence of [[India-East Pakistan border|borders linked with India]] against a [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971#India's official engagement with Pakistan|possible penetration]] by the [[Indian Army]].<ref>{{harvnb|Salik|1997|pp=81–83}}</ref> During this time, the 9th Infantry Division, headquartered in [[Jessore (city)|Jessore]] under its GOC Major-General Shaukat Riaz, had held the area of responsibility for looking after the looking area south of the [[Padma River]] for the defence of borders linked with India while the 16th Infantry Division, that headquartered in [[Bogra]] under its GOC Major-General Nazar Hussain Shah, had been responsible for the area north of Padma and west of [[Jamuna River (Bangladesh)|Jamuna]] rivers.<ref>{{harvnb|Salik|1997|pp=80–92}}</ref>

The 14th Infantry Division under its GOC Major-General Rahim Khan, was headquartered in [[Dhaka]] that had the entire area of responsibility for the rest of the province.<ref>{{harvnb|Salik|1997|p=92}}</ref>

The original plan was based on a series of exercises, known as ''Titumeer'', which were held during 1970–1971, was revised several times and approved in October 1971.<ref>{{harvnb|Qureshi|2002|pp=119–120}}</ref> General Niazi had created 4 ad hoc infantry brigades and 2 ad hoc infantry divisions before the final order of battle was devised.<ref>{{harvnb|Salik|1997|p=126}}</ref> The final order of battle prior to 3 December 1971, was:<ref>{{harvnb|Jacob|1997|pp=184–188}}</ref>

'''Eastern Command Headquarters, Dhaka'''<ref name="autogenerated184">{{harvnb|Niazi|1998|pp=184–187}}</ref> 
Commander, [[Eastern Command (Pakistan)|Eastern Command]]: [[Lieutenant-General|Lt. Gen.]] [[A. A. K. Niazi|A.A.K. Niazi]] 
[[General Officer Commanding|GOC]], 14th Infantry Division (till March '71): [[Major-General|Maj. Gen.]] [[Khadim Hussain Raja]] 
[[Military Advisor]]: Maj. Gen. [[Rao Farman Ali]] 
[[Chief of Staff|COS]]: [[Baqir Siddiqui|Brig. Baqir Siddiqui]] 
[[Commanding officer|CO]] [[Pakistan Army Corps of Artillery|Artillery]]: Brig. S.S.A. Kashim 
CO [[Pakistan Army Armoured Corps|Armoured]]: Col. Bakhtier 
CO [[Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers|Engineers]]: Brig. Iqbal Sharif 
CO [[Pakistan Army Corps of Signals|Signals]]: Brig. Areef Reza 
CO [[Pakistan Army Medical Corps|Medical]]: Brig. Fahim Ahmed Khan 
CO [[Special Service Group|SSG Army]]: [[Lieutenant-Colonel|Lt. Col.]] [[Tariq Mehmood]] 
[[:Category:Directors-General of the Inter-Services Public Relations|Dir]]. [[Inter-Services Public Relations (Bangladesh)|ISPR]]: [[Major (rank)|Major]] [[Siddique Salik]] 
[[Director-general|Dir.]] [[Military Intelligence (Pakistan)|Military Intelligence]]: Major [[Khalid Mahmud Arif|K.M. Arif]]

*Units under HQ Control: **6th Engineer Regiment **10th Engineer Regiment – detached to various locations **11th Engineer Regiment – Lt. Col Sarwar ** 43rd Light Ack Ack – Lt. Col. Mohammad Afzal ** 19th Signal Regiment **3rd Commando Battalion (less elements) **Army Aviation Squadron #4 – Lt. Col. Liakat Bokhari

===[[Dhaka Defence Scheme (Adhoc)]]===

Brig. Kashim (North): Dhaka Cantonment & Tongi area 
Brig. Mian Mansoor (East): Munshiganj & Narayanganj 
Brig. [[Tajammul Hussain Malik|T.H. Malik]]: [[Battle of Hilli|Hilli]] & [[Bogra]] 
Brig. Bashir: Dhaka city proper 
Brig. William Harrison: [[Comilla]] & [[Chittagong]]
*EPCAF HQ and Sector units:
**Police and Razakars

==36 Ad hoc Infantry Division==
GOC: Major General Muhammad Jamshed HQ Dhaka 
Area of Operation: Dhaka, Tangail and Mymensingh districts
*93 Infantry Brigade: Brig Abdul Qadir Khan HQ Mymensingh
**adhoc tank squadron<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Gill |first=John H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m2q6SgAACAAJ |title=An Atlas of the 1971 India - Pakistan War: The Creation of Bangladesh |date=2003 |publisher=National Defense University, Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies |pages=69 |language=en}}</ref>
**31 Baluch – Jamalpur
**33 Punjab – Mymensingh
**71 Wing WPR – Kishorganj
**70 Wing WPR – Bijaipur

==14 Infantry Division==
GOC: Major General Abdul Majid Qazi, HQ [[Brahmanbaria]] 
Area of Operation: Sylhet and Northern Comilla districts
*34th Punjab Regiment
===Sylhet===
*202 Infantry Brigade: Brig. Salimullah
**31 [[Punjab Regiment (Pakistan)|Punjab]] – [[Sylhet]]
**91 [[Mujahid Force]] Battalion – [[Sunamganj]]
Also: Wings of Tochi, Thal and Khyber scouts<ref name=":0" />

===Moulvibazar===
*313 infantry Brigade: Brig. Iftikar Rana
**22 [[Baloch Regiment|Baloch]] – [[Kulaura]] ([[Battle of Gazipur]])
**30 [[Frontier Force Regiment|Frontier Force]] – Shamshernagar (in Kamalganj)
**91 [[Mujahid Force]] (two companies) & Tochi Scouts – Sherpur

===Brahmanbaria===
*27th Infantry Brigade: Brig. Saadullah
**33rd Baluch – Kasba
**12th Frontier Force – Akhaura
**12th Azad Kashmir
**3 [[PT-76]] and 1 [[M24 Chaffee]]

==39 Ad hoc Division==
GOC: Maj. Gen. Rahim Khan (replaced by Brig. Mian Mansoor) – Chandpur 
Area of Operation: Comilla, Feni and Northern Chittagong
**21st Azad Kashmir (one companies with each brigades)

===Comilla===
*117th Infantry Brigade: Brig. Sheikh M.H. Atif
**30 Punjab – Saldanadi
**23 Punjab<ref name=":0" />
**25th Frontier Force – Mainamati
**12th Azad Kashmir – Comilla (two companies)

===Feni===
*53rde Infantry Brigade: Brig. Aslam Niazi
**15th Baluch – Belonia
**39th Baluch – Laksham

===Ramgarh===
*91st Ad hoc Brigade: Brig. Mian Taskeenuddin HQ Chittagong
**24th Frontier Force – Ramgarh (two companies)
**[[Chakma people|Chakma]] and [[Mizo people|Mizo]] troops<ref name="autogenerated184"/>
**EPCAF 11th and 14th Wing
**One Pakistan Ranger battalion
**One Mujahid Battalion
===Chittagong===
*97th Independent Brigade: Brig. Ata Mohd. Khan Malik
**48th Baluch – Chittagong
**24th Frontier Force
**2 SSG Commando – Rangamati
**60th Wing Rangers – Ramgarh
**61st Wing Rangers – Cox's Bazar
** Marine Battalion<ref name=":0" />

==16th Infantry Division==
GOC: Maj. Gen. Nazar Hussain Shah HQ: [[Bogra]], then [[Natore]] 
Area of Operation: Rajshahi, Bogra, Dinajpur, Rangpur and Pabna Districts

**34th Punjab
**29th Cavalry (three squadrons of [[M24 Chaffee]])<ref name=":0" />
**13 Engineer Battalion
===Saidpur===
*23rd Infantry Brigade: Brig. Iqbal Shaffi
**25th Punjab – Lalmanirhut
**26th Frontier Force – [[Dinajpur District (Bangladesh)|Dinajpur]]
**48th Punjab – [[Thakurgaon District|Thakurgaon]]
**8 Punjab – [[Rangpur District|Rangpur]]
**86th Mujahid – Gaibandha

===Bogra===
*205th Infantry Brigade: Brig. Tajammul Hussain Malik HQ: Khetlal
**13th Frontier Force
**4th Frontier Force – Hili
**3rd Baluch – Jaipurhut

===Natore===
*34th Infantry Brigade: Brig. Mir Abdul Nayeem
**32nd Punjab – Nawabganj
**32nd Baloch
**12nd Punjab (one company)<ref name=":0" />

===Rajshahi===
*Rajshahi Ad hoc Brigade<ref>{{harvnb|Salik|1997|p=148}}</ref>

==9th Infantry Division==
GOC: Maj. Gen HM. H. Ansari HQ [[Jessore (city)|Jessore]] 
Area of Operation: [[Khulna]], Jessore, [[Kushtia]], [[Faridpur District|Faridpur]], [[Barisal]] and Patuakhali districts
**6th Punjab
**21st Punjab (R&S)
**3rd Independent Armoured Squadron ([[M24 Chaffee]])

===Jhenidha===
*57th Infantry Brigade: Brig. Manzoor Ahmed
**18th Punjab – Darshana
**50th Punjab – Jhenida
**29th Baluch – Kushtia

===Jessore===
*107th Infantry Brigade: Brig. Malik Hayat Khan
**22nd Frontier Force – Benapole
**38th Frontier Force – Afra
**15th Frontier Force – Jessore
**12th Punjab – Jessore (minus one company)<ref name=":0" />

===Khulna===
*314th Ad Hoc Brigade: Brig. Fazle Hamid<ref>{{harvnb|Salik|1997|p=138}}</ref>
**One Mujahid Bn
**Five [[East Pakistan Civil Armed Force]] companies
**Five [[Internal security force]] companies<ref name=":0" />

==Pakistan Air Force==
[[Air Officer Commanding]], Dacca airbase: [[Air Commodore|Air Cdre]] [[Inamul Haque Khan]] 
Officer Commanding (Operations Wing): [[Group Captain|GP.Capt.]] [[Zulfiqar Ali Khan]] 
Officer-in Charge (OIC), [[List of Pakistan Air Force squadrons|No. 14 Squadron "Tail-choppers’’]]: [[Wing commander (rank)|Wg. Cdr.]] Mohammed Afzal Chowdhury
*Number of aircraft of the squadron: 20 [[F-86]] Sabers
*Training unit: 3 [[T-33 Shooting Star|T-33]]

==Pakistan Navy==
Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Naval Command: [[Rear Admiral|R.Adm]] [[Mohammad Shariff]] 
[[Commanding Officer|CO]] [[Pakistan Marines]]/[[Commanding officer|CO]] [[Special Service Group Navy|SSG Navy]]: [[Captain (naval)|Capt.]] [[Ahmad Zamir]] 
Dir. [[Military Communications|MILCOM]]: [[Commander (rank)|Cdr.]] [[Tariq Kamal Khan|T.K. Khan]] 
Dir. [[Naval Intelligence (Pakistan)|Nav Intel.]]: Cdr. [[Mansurul Haq]]
*4 Gunboats: PNS ''Rajshahi'', ''Comilla'', ''Sylhet'' and ''Jessore''
**1 Patrol Boat: PNS ''Balaghat''
**17 armed boats<ref>{{harvnb|Salik|1997|p=133}}</ref>
**24 improvised gunboats<ref name=":0" />
==Paramilitary==
[[East Pakistan Civil Armed Force|East Pakistan Civil Armed Forces]] : Maj Gen Mohammad Jamshed Khan<ref name=":0" />
*Rangpur Sector : 8th Wing, 9th Wing, 10th Wing
*Comilla Sector : 1st Wing, 3rd Wing, 12th Wing
*Chittagong Sector : 2nd Wing, 11th Wing, 14th Wing
*Dacca Sector : 13th Wing, 16th Wing
*Jessore Sector : 4th Wing, 5th Wing, 15th Wing
*Rajshahi Sector : 6th Wing, 7th Wing, unidentified wing

==See also==
* [[Mitro Bahini order of battle]]
* [[Evolution of Pakistan Eastern Command plan]]
* [[Military plans of the Bangladesh Liberation War]]
* [[Timeline of the Bangladesh Liberation War]]
* [[Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts]]

==Notes and references==

===Notes===
{{reflist}}

===References===
* {{cite book |last=Jacob |first=J. F. R. |author-link=J. F. R. Jacob |year=1997 |title=Surrender at Dacca: Birth of A Nation |publisher=The University Press Limited |isbn=81-7304-189-X}}
* {{cite book |last=Niazi |first=A.A.K |author-link=A. A. K. Niazi |year=1998 |title=The Betrayal of East Pakistan |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-577727-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Qureshi |first=Hakeem Arshad |year=2002 |title=The Indo Pak War of 1971: A Soldiers Narrative |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-579778-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Salik |first=Siddiq |author-link=Siddique Salik |year=1997 |orig-year=First published 1977 |title=Witness to Surrender |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-577761-1}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pakistan Army Order Of Battle December 1971}}
[[Category:India–Pakistan war of 1971]]
[[Category:Bangladesh Liberation War orders of battle]]

Bangladesh Liberation War order of battle: Pakistan - Revision history

FranciscaFortney at 13:35, 15 May 2026