British Perspective Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 and Pakistan Independence of 1947

August 25, 1947

The bloody hell we are going to leave Pakistan so easily but due to the fact that we have protestors on our heels and the all so “peaceful” U.N to help the underdeveloped nation. I, Lord Mountbatten of Burma, disagree with this sudden haste of leaving. After all these years in Pakistan and commuting around in India I knew that once the British step out that borderline chaos would arise. Not only chaos but anarchy will arise amongst the dispute between where the line should be made. I of course was useless due to the fact that I was so concentrated in making the borderline I failed to see that my all work would be in vain and I would be forced to leave that country.

After World War II, I have known for a long time since the beginning of that horrible war that Britain although victorious will come out battered, beaten, and worn out. She will be so unstable that the colonies all around the world will soon rebel. Of course during that time I was the viceroy of India and I saw the changes as the political leaders Gandhi and Ali Jinnah took the stand to liberate the Muslims and Hindus from the paws of the imperialists.

As of now I reflect upon what I have done. I still believed it was impossible to unify India under one flag. Due to the fact that the two religious groups hated each other and also be cause I saw the segregation that they had for each other. I quickly confronted my peers back in my motherland and voiced my opinion. They agreed to my opinion and hastily decided to break the two religions apart. I was partly relieved to see no more civil wars going on but soon I was branded as a traitor. This seemed unexpected for me because I never would have known that by helping another country be content that I would have been branded as a hypocrite and disillusioned.

The date was, I believe, August 14^th of 1947 when I was appointed governor-general of India. Although I was appointed to a high position in India rather than in Pakistan I saw more potential in Pakistan through the leadership of Mohammad Ali Jinnah. “If it could be said that any single man held the future of India in the palm of his hand in 1947, that man was Mohammad Ali Jinnah.”. Through his leadership I hoped to see the day when the two countries to get along. After all he is a very good peace activist but not as good as Gandhi. However I still believe that he can pull through, but my hope was soon dashed as I saw numerous anarchies along the borderline that I have drawn on that treacherous day. Even though there were guards patrolling the area and also keeping the immigration in check as Hindus went to India and Muslims went to Pakistan, anarchy was present and caused too many casualties. Even Richard Symonds says “at the lowest estimate, half a million people perished and twelve million became homeless”.

Not few months later a war broke between these two nations. I happen to be governor general as I said before. The intensity of these two nations accumulates each day as their dispute between the borderline continues. Because of this war, I feel a great pain inside me. The thought that this war started because of me pains me deeply. The war progressed rapidly as each side suffered heavy losses. Pakistan lost 1500 people in total.

Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 and Pakistan Independence of 1947 - From a Pakistani Citizen

August 23, 1947

Ah, my good leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah has liberated us from the evil imperialist Britain. That horrible country has finally retracted its paws from Pakistan. The date was August 14th of 1947. Celebrations are every where as I leave my store in Karachi to see this world in a new light. Just yesterday it was a different place. Just yesterday there was violence. And now it feels the burden has been taken off as my leader Ali Jinnah took the bold stand of becoming the first leader of this new state. I shall remember this day as a new leap forward. This story shall be passed down to generations and generations for this historical moment. My son who is only 7 years old does not fully understand the joy of a country where freedom might be possible for us. A place where we do not have to be segregated from those white devils, a place where we can my son and his friends can be endowed with liberty and justice. I remember the time 17 years ago when I was in my early twenties when I saw Muhammad Ali Jinnah proposing the idea of a separate state in the India subcontinent. Later did I know that he proposed the idea of a state where Muslims can be free from the violence that we face every day from the Hindus. Suddenly in the midst of celebration Ali Jinnah rose to the platform and spoke.

If you will work in cooperation, forgetting the past, burying the hatchet, you are bound to succeed. If you change your past and work together in a spirit that every one of you, no matter to what community he belongs, no matter what relations he had with you in the past, no matter what is his color, caste, or creed, is first, second, and last a citizen of this State, with equal rights, privileges, and obligations, there will be no end to the progress you will make.
That speech still resonates through my head as if that speech of his was a revelation to me. No doubt Pakistan will progress to be a world leading country in the future. This much I can promise to my young son.

Of course, now it is different. Soon after the liberation from the British Imperialist, we were faced with new a new terror. The terror was anarchy upon our borderline. This dispute I had no particular interest in because all I wanted was my son to have a country he can live in with out being segregated. Just as of yesterday as soon as India and Pakistan became separate nations, huge amount of immigration was seen. Hindus that lived in the Pakistan region moved out to India while Muslims in the India region moved into Pakistan. It was quite a scene to see because all was total anarchy. Nothing was in order. In the midst of all that there were casualties and I quickly covered my son’s eyes as guns shots were heard. I could not hope to see war would affect his childhood memories.
Now the date is October 21st of 1947. I have been drafted to the army leaving my family behind. The objective to once and for all settle the dispute of the borderline. I was none to eager to help. The other objective was to conquer the state called Kashmir. Well the beginning operation was called “Operation Gulmarg”. The whole objective was to capture Kashmir valley including its principal city Srinagar. Once I stepped into battle, I knew this operation was going to fail. In the end the state army that joined later mutinied. I was glad I was not there at that time because I heard it went pretty badly. Knowing that the operation was going to fail, my squad leader quickly helped us get out of this death filled valley. This operation was soon followed by Operation “Vijay”, Operation “Gulab and Erase”, Operation “Duck”, and lastly Operation “Easy, Punch Link-Up”. The war finally ended by a cease-fire signed by Pakistan and India. The U.N was glad to stop the war when Prime Minister of India Nehru asked to intervene. The date was December 31st of 1948. It was a good one year and two months of continuous fighting. Although some of the violence subsidized after a while. Well sadly for me as I was prepared to celebrate hearing that India and Pakistan signed a cease-fire, I went into cardiac arrest and soon passed away.

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 - Pakistani Soldier

As I passed the cease-fire line with my other 28,000 or so comrades, I felt the chill of fear going through my spine. The date was August 5^th 1965. It is now 18 years after my late father’s death. My father who was a small shop keeper back in Karachi was eventually killed in the 1947 battle of Kashmir. I was merely seven years old and did not understand when my mother told me that my father will never come back again. Back then, I thought it meant that he went on a business trip over the great boundless sea and to somewhere better. I despised him for that reason. Leaving my mother and I here to be living off of bare provisions from the local charities. However, as soon as I learned why he died I quickly enlisted as one of the small Pakistan armies here in Karachi. Now here I am waiting for orders as tanks, planes, and infantry pass the line to conquer the land known as Kashmir. I have no fear as I bravely march through with my leader General Ayub Khan. Although some disagreed with the idea of attacking India in the state it is now, I fully accede to his decision because not only India is weak due to the Chinese army weakening the India army but also that I can have my revenge for what they have done to my father.

On that day, August 5^th, we dressed up as locals of Kashmir to various areas so that we can wait for the right moment to strike. However it must have not worked because as soon as 10 days later, India crossed the cease-fire line. On September 1^st of 1965, Operation “Grandslam” took effect. The main objective was to swiftly capture Akhnoor. It was the key region between the intelligence communications between Kashir and India. With out the help of American tanks such as Patton we would have never have had the chance to stand on equal grounds and do a superior job at ground warfare than India that day. Soon as infantry tired out and retaliated, air force kicked in and did some punches to those Indians. However soon India mobilized its army and attacked one of the cities that I was fortifying. The city was called Punjab, and because of this Operation Grandslam was a failure.

Furthermore, the official beginning of the war did not start technically until September 6^th when India crossed the international border. Their leader was the World War II veteran, General Prasad. We too met with the same intensity by sending 900,000 troops toward Lahore, Pakistan. September 8^th, we received another mission. It was to run down the city of Munabao. The Indian army tried to put up a resistance but it was soon turned to be futile as we overpowered them by pure brute force and aerial attacks. However on September 10^th, we received a crushing defeat as we lost 97 of our tanks and suffering heavy losses. That town that the battle was fought in became known as Patton Nagar meaning Patton town. Sadly for me, the war came to an cease-fire again as both sides knew it was going to be a stalemate on September 23^rd . Perhaps it is to keep it as stalemate rather than depleting resources and wasting lives pointlessly.

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

1971

Bissmillah,

My body aches with sharp pain, and the more I think about it the more my body throbs. In spite of my pain, my mind is overjoyed with happiness. It has finally happened, and everyone in East Pakistan is overwhelmed. Sorry, it is no longer East Pakistan, but Bangladesh. That word is the most enthralling word any of us in the Awami League have ever heard. Ok, there is no Bangladesh yet, but when there is, it will be a perfect society for us Bengalis. It is going to be a monumental event for all residing in East Pakistan. As the head of the Awami League, a nationalist group that advocates for East Pakistan to be its own state. It is my job to organize East Pakistan and get ready for our Independence, and make sure our new state will not collapse when we declare independence from Pakistan, and so far we are prepared for everything.
I remember when H.S. Suhrawardy first organized the Awami league in 1949. The league was intended to give a say to the Bengali’s living in East Pakistan. The people there were a part of Pakistan in geography, but socially, there was a border between us that speak Bangla, and the Panjabi’s that speak Urdu. That was actually one of the first things, we at the Awami league tried to propagate. We believe that since there two Pakistan, there should be two different languages, if necessary, for Pakistan as a whole. This one movement was one of the first plans to create a separate State from Pakistan, and now this act is being called the Bengali Language Act, and It gave us all more hope to keep going forward no matter what struggles came to us.
Besides the Language Act, we first discussed the topic of making a new state, and started with the basics. The first thing we organized was our proclamation from Pakistan. It was a challenging task, because we do not have an army to support us nor the materials. After many revisions and thoughts later we had it, and I still remember the enlightened words that were used. As I recall it went,

In order to ensure for the people of Bangladesh equality, human dignity and social justice, declare and constitute Bangladesh to be a sovereign People's Republic and thereby confirm the declaration of independence already made by Banga Bandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and do hereby affirm and resolve that till such time as a Constitution is framed, Banga Bandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman shall be the President of the Republic and that Syed Nazrul Islam shall be the Vice President of the Republic.

Those words were the beginning of our plan to create the Republic of Bangladesh. All our work has finally paid off, and now we will have a home for our people.
Creating a Bangladesh has been a tough and hard task, but for a certain reason we are all so happy and overjoyed by completing such a grand task. I look at my past and remember all those times I have been arrested and persecuted by Pakistani officials for leading a revolution, or as General Mohammad Ayub Khan said, for “posing a threat to national stability.” After that I was once again arrested by Yahya Khan and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, because I was forming a government for Bangladesh. Now I look back at those experiences and laugh, because now we are united, they cannot do anything to us.
We at the Awami league are now just waiting for the right moment to declare our independence, just itching to proclaim ourselves as a Bengali Republic. Inshallah, we will become a untied state, and Inshallah, we will have a place for our people to live in peace and equality, and I, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, swear on my soul, that I will create a Bangladesh, in which us Bengalis can live in peace and prosperity!

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

April 1, 1979


My fate has been decided. I am to be hanged.

It’s been almost 8 months since I have been accused of murder; a murder that I have not even committed. These lies were obviously fabricated by my enemies, and it seems despite my numerous protests that these men would not give up. Just few days ago I have been sentenced to death. I foresaw this coming. I was prepared, for I knew it was inevitable. But what of my family? They did not, could not bear the news. They visited me last night. All three of my beautiful daughters. Especially Benezir, my first born. Last night I told her, “They are going to kill me. It doesn't matter what evidence you or anyone comes up with. They are going to murder me for murder I didn't commit.” Although I knew these were harsh words, I did not wish to keep the truth from her; No, I needed her to know the truth. I wrote a letter to my attorney saying,

I did not kill that man. My God is aware of it. I am big enough to admit if I had done it, that admission would have been less of an ordeal and humiliation than this barbarous trial which no self respecting man can endure. I am a Muslim. A Muslim's fate is in the hands of God Almighty I can face Him with a clear conscience and tell Him that I rebuilt His Islamic State of Pakistan from ashes into a respectable Nation. I am entirely at peace with my conscience in this black whole of Kot Lakhpat. I am not afraid of death. You have seen what fires I have passed through.

Indeed, I have been through treacherous fires for the past years. Probably becoming one of Pakistan’s delegations to the United Nations was the first step of my path. I slowly worked my way into becoming one of the Pakistani cabinet ministers in 1958. Then I have become a close and trusted advisor to President Muhammad Ayub Khan. Then with the Tashkent Declaration of Ayub, I could no longer serve under him.
After leaving my office in 1966, I have created my own party, a party that would represent the people of Pakistan: the Pakistan’s People Party (PPP). I believed that Islam is our faith, democracy is our policy, and socialism is our economy. I pursued for Ayub’s resign of his presidency. Then Ayub’s goons arrested me on November 12, 1968, and I was jailed. This did not stop me from my goal, and soon I was released.
Although I could not achieve presidency against General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan in, 1969, two years later after numerous struggles I was able to acquire the votes of the people of Pakistan, and was elected president. In 1972, I was able to call the National Assembly and create the Third Constitution. Using this opportunity, I was able to become the Prime Minister also. Not only that I became the commander of chief of the armed forces. I believed this was all for the good of the people. During my presidency, I have put effort so that Pakistan’s international relations would be strong. I elected again in 1973 for presidency; and although I was arrested due to some silly accusation that I rigged the election, I was released soon afterwards.
This was not the last of the accusations I have had to face. My enemies were relentless. In the 1977 election, again my opposition, Pakistan National Alliance, accused me of rigging it. This time though, despite my decision of having a fresh new election, General Zia, a PNA advocate, sent his troops and arrested me, in a coup d’état. Many of the members of PPP were arrested along with me.
These constant false accusations did not put fear into me for I knew they were false.

These are the fires I have been through, what I have lived through. I hope that the people of Pakistan realize the contributions I have made for them. I believe this is the path, which Allah has set before me, and I shall accept it.

Zia-ul-Haq and Sharia Law

1985

Assalamualaikum,

The year is 1985, and I have just instituted the Sharia Law on the people of Pakistan, and I am having mixed feelings towards that decision. The Muslims living in Pakistan only voted for me only because I had planned to force strict Sharia Law on the people of Pakistan. Some of the outsiders, such as America think that the strict law is too strong of a policy to imply on the people of Pakistan. I however believe that Sharia is a must for a Muslim society such as Pakistan. The Islamic Sharia Law is God's revealed law for human beings. Islam holds that God, as creator, desires human beings to live in certain ways, and that he has revealed those ways to humans. As a leader of a great Muslim society, I feel obligated to imply the law on the Pakistani people.
Since I was elected in 1978, I have heard many criticism of my work as president. I consequently clamped down on dissent by suspending the constitution, dissolving parliament, and outlawed political and labor activity, but I only did that for the good of Pakistan. As prime minister it is my job to keep Pakistan safe, strong, and stable, and by dictating the Sharia law in Pakistan is to do all those things. The point of the Sharia law is to lay down a solid foundation to keep society in order. For example, in the case of inheritance, when the father dies, the wife will get the largest share, then the children are given their share fairly. Small things like these that are implied by Sharia law, is why I have set it as an official law.
Besides how Sharia Generally helps Pakistani society, the current state of Pakistan need the Sharia law. The civil war within Pakistan, and the wars outside our borders with the communist bloc has left Pakistan scarred and unstable. The various boycotts and rebellions has put a very big risk on the delicate infrastructure of our nation. The wars with the Soviet Union has been tough on Pakistan even with $600 million in aid per year from countries such as the United States, The United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia. Sharia Law, by the will of god, will heal our crippled nation, and once again restore our great Nation to what it used to be!
O Allah, please restore the honor for Pakistan. O Allah, you are the great, please help the people of Pakistan get by without any problems or Struggles. O Allah, you are the greatest, help the soldiers in Afghanistan win, and let them succeed; and taste Glory. Please, Allah, you are the Most Glorious, please forgive the people of Pakistan for their patience and cooperation, and relieve them of their stress and forgive them all. O Allah please forgive all those who followed the right Path. O Allah Thnak you for everything you have given to me, my family, and Pakistan, an please forgive us for whatever sins we have committed. AMEN!

Benazir Bhutto

October 19, 1993

Today I have taken my oath for a second term as prime minister. Has it already been 5 years since my last election? I was the first female prime minister of a Muslim nation after winning parliamentary elections. This was a momentous day, not only for me, but also for the women all around Pakistan. I hoped to influence many young and old women around Pakistan, and that they would rise up to the traditional ways of Pakistani women.
When I first visited the United States as a young woman, I was instantly amazed at the way students talked back to their professors and parents, the open and casual relationships between boys and girls, and the freedom enjoyed by women. Such actions back home would surely result in harsh disciplinary and punishment. I soon adjusted to this way of life, and was determined to bring back some of these ideals home.
When my father has passed on the fateful day, I was desolate. It felt like a whole chunk of my soul have been ripped out. As I looked through the letters he has sent me while being detained, I slowly, bit by bit, regained myself and determined to uphold my father’s legacy.When I finally became the Prime Minister of this nation in 1988, my goals were to change the way our women lived their lives. For me the concept of being “obedient” to the husband and men were too…”old.” In these modern times, change is what was needed. Although the fundamentalist Muslim majority limited my abilities, in spite of that I pushed on and set up number of health cares and legal aid centers for women who were abused and did not need to return to their husbands out of fear. I have also appointed a number of women judges, and hired women police officers.Also during my first term, I have established a goal of reducing the aspects of shari'a that infringed upon basic human rights. This was a difficult task since it would mean I would be offending the Muslim society. Despite this, I succeeded in restoring fundamental human rights in Pakistan.
During my second term, I plan to continue the goals of the Pakistan’s People Party.

General Pervez Musharraf

October 12, 1999

I have waited for this day for a while. All I can see is the current government being overthrown. The date is October 12th of 1999. The other high ranking officers and I have planned this very early. I, Pervez Musharraf, led a coup e’ tat against the prime minister of Pakistan. I believed that the current prime minister was corrupt and inept for running a country. I gladly sought the opportunity to lead a revolution as soon as the high ranking officials consulted me about this.
As I dismissed the prime minister Nawaz Sharif from his position I proclaimed myself the new prime minister of Pakistan. It all began in the commercial plane incident. As I heard the news that I have been replaced by some novice I quickly set foot on a plane and tried to get back to Pakistan as quickly as possible from my trip from Sri Lanka. On board was several of my comrades. They too were on my side for the coup e’ tat. As soon as were in the range of Karachi, the plane’s direction started to change. I asked the pilot why he changed his course. He answered with a quivering voice that the prime minster has directly ordered him to make the plane land somewhere else. I noticed that the fuel in the plane was almost at its brink of running out. I quickly persuaded him to still fly to the destination that we were planning to go. The generals and I were soon greeted with an overwhelming 15,000 troops. With this army we secured the airport as we headed toward the government building.
As time passed we caught that slimy and corrupted politician and put him on trial. As we put in on trial he had a look on his face as if he would come back from the dead and hunt us down one by one. However I laughed at this amusing thought when I heard that he is found guilty. I was relieved to see a man who would do anything to secure his spot in the government go far as to somehow “delay” the generals from coming and prepare for revolution. His sentence was quite simple. A life in prison. He was accused for hijacking, kidnapping, and also attempted murder. The last accusation sounded quite far fetched because after all the plane landed smoothly and we were in the capitol building waiting to arrest Nawaz in one piece safely. However in 2000 one of the government officials bailed him out from jail. It was no surprise to me however, he seemed to have been humiliated and quietly went into exile in Saudi Arabia. Since then I have never heard back from that corrupted man.

Nawaz Sharif

November, 2001

Assalamualaikum,

It has been two very long and weary years, and now I am finally free. Two long and tiring years has worn me out, and has left me crippled and scarred. Now it is 2001 and so much has changed during the time I was imprisoned. It was only two years ago, that I was the Prime Minister of Great Pakistan, and it was only two years ago that I was fighting with Benazir Bhutto, Pervez Musharraf, and Jehangir Keramat. That was two years ago, but now my life is different, and by the command of the new leader of Pakistan, I am exiled to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was only two years ago when all my life collapsed, and I remember it as it happened just yesterday.
As I recall, it was October 12, 1999, and I was suddenly overthrown in a bloodless and quick coup by my own military, under the order of Pervez Musharraf, and arrested for corruption of state. At the end of my trial I was sentenced behind bars for life. That say could have possibly been the worst day of my career and reputation, and that day I will never forget, and will always bother me every day of my life. Out of all my pain, I find a bit of humor in my past, because it was reported that the coup was planned from weeks before I was arrested, and it was right under my radar.
See, during my time as Prime Minister I only saw the best for Pakistan. During the first months I dismantled the old-style command economy and liberalized the market place, by doing this I hoped to help improve Pakistan’s current economy and only make things better for Pakistan. I invited foreign investors to establish operations in Pakistan, while I sold off inefficient, state-run businesses. I even lifted controls on foreign currency exchange and promoted extensive privatization just to help Pakistan’s economy . I did such great things for Pakistan, and then because of one thing I did. When Army Chief of Staff Pervez Musharraf was reluctant to withdraw his forces from the Indian border, I tried to suspend him and replace him with a much more suitable man for the job. To try to stop him I ordered his plane to immediately land so he could immediately be replaced. and because of that one decision I was charged for corruption of the state and for hijacking a plane. After trial I was sentenced for life only for the charge for corruption of the state. About hijacking charges, the judge said, that I had neither used force nor ordered its use or employed deceitful means . I spent 2 years in jail just because of that one hasty decision. I regret not taking a minute of two just to see the possible outcomes for what I did, but it really doesn’t really matter because as I said before, the arrest was planned weeks before. Trying to suspend Musharraf just gave them the right chance to act. After my arrest General Pervez Musharraf later assumed control of the government as Chief Executive . Since then I, have been imprisoned and in exile. Musharaf, My former general, is now stating that I am no longer “welcome” to Pakistan, because my appearance might cause “instability” in Pakistan.
Now I live in exile, and for the next 10 years I will stay in Saudi Arabia, where my family runs and maintains an extensive steel mill . I have also been warned by general Musharraf not to return to Pakistan under pain of arrest, and there Is no hurry for me to leave my residence, and I hope to stay in Saudi Arabia with my family and Inshallah live a happy and quiet life.