Just so you can be clearer about the figures and what was India doing and how the matter resolved. Read a bit more.
After the surrender of Pakistan army, near about 93,000 Pakistani military personnel and civilians weretaken to India as Prisoners of war (POWs). Among the POWs there were 56998 armed forces regulars,18287 para military persons and 17376 civilians including 4616 police and 1628 civilian governmentservants, 3963 others including over 6000 women and children. (Chopra, 1988) Soon after their surrender,the UNO Security Council passed a resolution on December 21, 1971 calling upon the parties to observe theGeneva Convention and not to attach any conditions to the repatriation of the POWs.(Burke, 1973)Article 118 of the Geneva Convention (1949) puts it as a condition that Prisoners of War must be
repatriated immediately after the cessation of active hostilities. It also stipulates that detaining power isobliged to work out a plan for their repatriation. (Kurta, 1972) But, the Indian government continued todetain Pakistani POWs for a long time on the plea that they had surrendered to the joint command of Indiaand Bangladesh, therefore any decision about their plight should be taken by the mutual consent of both thecountries. (Keesings contemporary Archives, 1971-72). Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman, on the other hand, haddeclared that he would not take part in any meeting, bi-lateral or tri-lateral, unless Bangladesh wasrecognized by Pakistan. (Chopra, 1988)Pakistans stand was that when her armed forces surrendered, the state of Bangladesh had not come intoexistence, and that Pakistani troops were defending their own country against foreign aggression. Thus,India was solely responsible for their deliverance.
(Samina, 1974) 1 Graduate School of International Studies, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea, Email:
[email protected] 2 Assistant Controller, Lahore College of Women University, Lahore, Pakistan, Email:
[email protected]