The 93,000 Pakistani prisoners taken on the finish of the 1971 conflict all the time discover outstanding point out in each remembrance occasion held to mark the anniversary of the conflict. Nonetheless, not a lot is out there within the public area on how the humongous administrative and logistic train of boarding, feeding and guarding these hundreds of prisoners was undertaken by the Indian Military.
The camps
The POW camps had been situated throughout India, together with in Ranchi, Agra, Gwalior, Roorkee and Jabalpur. Senior Pakistan Military officers, together with Lt Gen A A Ok Niazi, the GOC Jap Command in East Pakistan, had been held in Jabalpur. Aside from the officers and troopers held in these camps, their mother and father, wives and youngsters had been additionally in captivity. Subsequently, separate preparations needed to be made for these civilians concerning their welfare and medical wants. In truth, many kids had been born to Pakistani prisoners within the preliminary days of captivity in 1972. One camp that held civilian internees reported the start of six kids in 1972.
Clothes and meals
A scale of rations just like that of navy personnel was established for the Pakistani POWs. For the winter season, every POW acquired both three blankets or one quilt and one blanket. Every POW with no Pakistan Military pullover was given both a woollen pullover or shirt. In some camps, leather-based jackets with out sleeves had been issued. One pair of socks was distributed to all of the POWs. Some girls refused the military pullovers as unsuitable, requesting shawls that weren’t obtainable.
A each day distribution of contemporary fruits was made among the many kids detained within the civilian camps, with every youngster aged 1 to 17 years receiving a banana each day. One thousand bottles of multivitamin syrup had been handed over to a Pakistani physician in cost in a single camp, who organised the distribution.
POWs who had Indian foreign money deposited within the camp might use it for purchases within the canteen.
Freedom of faith
No complaints had been made in any of the camps concerning freedom of worship to the inspecting authorities, together with impartial ones just like the Worldwide Committee of the Purple Cross (ICRC). Prisoners who died whereas making an attempt to flee or as a result of sickness had been buried in a Muslim cemetery a brief distance away from the POW camps in clearly marked graves that ICRC groups might determine.
In a single camp the place some POWs had been killed throughout an altercation with sentries, the home windows of all of the barracks had been fitted with iron bars, and the POWs had been locked of their barracks at night time. Nonetheless, throughout Ramzan, they had been supplied with all obligatory services for praying and consuming at night time.
In one of many camps, the camp authorities spent Rs 5,000 to assist POWs rejoice Eid al-Adha and allotted Rs 1 per head for the Christian POWs for Christmas.
The group commander of a number of camps assisted the Shia POWs in celebrating Muharram. Quran and Bible translations in Urdu had been broadly obtainable within the camps.
For Christmas, a priest visited the Christians, who got some delicacies and a particular menu. The Shi’ites assembled in a single block for the Muharram observances. A mullah, interviewed with out witnesses, expressed satisfaction on the respect proven for spiritual actions.
Newspapers and different services
Many POWs complained within the preliminary days that postal or cash orders despatched from India or overseas had not been remitted to them. It was defined that solely civilians had been authorised to obtain cash orders. Cash or postal orders despatched to POWs had been due to this fact returned to the senders.
In every block, POWs acquired one newspaper in Urdu and 4 in English each day. As soon as per week, they acquired two copies of the Illustrated Weekly of India. Every block had a small library, with most books in Urdu.
The POWs might take heed to each day radio broadcasts, together with a half-hour bulletin from 6.30 am to 7 pm on Pakistan Information, a bulletin from 3 pm to 4 pm on Indian Information, and an Indian leisure programme at 8.30 pm.
Officers among the many POWs had private transistors, junior commissioned officers had one transistor per barrack, whereas officers of different ranks had one per block. On common, two movies had been proven month-to-month to the POWs.
Sports activities, video games and musical devices
So far as exterior video games had been involved, POWs practised widespread bodily workout routines of their courtyard. There was a volleyball floor in every enclosure, and inter-camp volleyball tournaments had been organised.
For indoor video games, the POWs had a number of decks of enjoying playing cards, one chess board and two carrom boards per block.
One harmonium, 4 tablas, one Indian drum and ten flutes had been normally obtainable within the camps, supplied as items by the ICRC. These devices, bought from the native market, had been to remain in every block for 3 days earlier than being handed on.
Radio messages for households in Pakistan
A workforce from All India Radio visited the camps to report private household messages to be broadcast to relations in Pakistan. On common, three correspondence types had been distributed to the POWs for writing letters. Some POWs complained that letters despatched to or from Pakistan took two to 3 months to achieve their addressees.
Punishment to POWs
A couple of POWs got phrases of confinement, normally on the request of a POW officer or the senior POW non-commissioned officer of the block. Some POWs confronted fines amounting to 50 per cent of their advance pay as a consequence of breaking navy self-discipline.
In all camps, a punishment register was maintained, noting all particulars. All punishments had been administered in compliance with Articles 89 and 90 of the Third Geneva Conference.
Strict orders got to the sentries to stay calm and to not shoot contained in the camp in case of bother or fights. It was famous that the Pakistani POW jawans regularly fought amongst themselves, which officers attributed to the blending of items, frustration and congestion within the barracks.
POWs shot useless whereas escaping
There have been escape makes an attempt by the POWs and whereas some had been profitable, others resulted in deaths. One Capt Riaz-Ul-Haq of the 26 Frontier Power escaped from Camp 32.
In Camp 95, there was an tried escape by Mohd Ishaq of the 48 Baluch, who was positioned in detention for 15 days. Afterward, the Camp Commander despatched him to the Camp Hospital for a number of days since he was in a state of melancholy.
Two POW camps in India had been the scene of incidents in October 1972. The primary incident, at Dhanna on 3 October 1972, resulted in eight deaths and quite a few casualties; the second, at Allahabad on 13 October, value the lives of six prisoners.
In a single camp in Uttar Pradesh, 16 POWs together with six officers had been being transported in a closed van to the navy hospital for routine dental and eye remedy. On the vacation spot, two prisoners—Lt M I Rizvi and Capt Abdul Wahid—began operating in several instructions. The escort and the driving force chased them. Lt Rizvi was caught by the driving force however freed himself and continued operating. He was repeatedly challenged however stored operating, ensuing within the escort opening hearth, which led to his loss of life. Capt Abdul Wahid was additionally shot and wounded.
In one other incident, a gaggle of POWs in Uttar Pradesh tried to assault and overpower the sentries to grab their firearms. They succeeded in taking possession of 1 rifle and shot at one of many sentries, wounding him. One other group of POWs rushed in direction of the sentries on the gate, whereas a number of others started climbing the watchtower. The sentries on obligation opened hearth in self-defence to regulate the scenario, ensuing within the deaths of six POWs.
Medical services for POWs
Pakistan Military medical personnel had been employed to run medical services supervised by Indian Military docs at a number of places. In a single such hospital, Pak Military Lt Col M Anwar, pathologist; Lt Col A R Minhas, dental surgeon; Lt Col M Akhtar, ENT specialist; Maj Magbool Shah, GDMO; Maj M A Hamid Khan, EDMO; Maj Khadim Hussain, eye specialist; Maj H M Butt, anaesthetist; Capt M.A. Kiani, surgeon; Capt Ok D Mirza; Capt M A Qamar, medical specialist; Capt Ashur Khan; Lieut I H Bajwa; and Lt Col M S Bhatti, dermatologist, had been accountable for operating medical services for the POWs.
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