The Betrayal of East Pakistan : -Lt. Gen. A. A. K. Niazi
14 Division of three Brigades under Major Gerieral Ralim Khan became responsible for Mymensingh, Sylhet, Comilla up to and including River Feni, Noakhali, and Dhaka. Bhairab Bridge was included in the area of 14 Division. Chittagong and the Chittagong Hill Tracts were made the responsibility of an independent brigade and commandos under Eastern Command.
In the new deployment the following changes were made:
Major-General Shaukat Riza was removed from the command of 9 Division for inefficiency and buckling under stress of war conditions, and Brigadier M. H. Ansari was promoted and given the command of 9 Division. This Division was originally responsible for the civil divisions of Dhaka and Khulna. Now a Division less one brigade was made responsible for Khulna Division only.
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The reorganization was as under, and completed by the end of October 1971:
14 Division, previously at Dhaka, was assigned Mymensingh?Sylhet? Chittagong sector, i.e., the whole area east of the Rivers Brahmaputra and Padma/Ganges. This was allocated as under:
1. 14 Division (ten battalions) was made responsible for the entire area east of Meghna River.
2. A new ad hoc 202 Brigade with one battalion plus CAF was created in area Sylhet under Brigadier Salimullah. 313 Brigade under Brigadier Rana moved down to Maulvi Bazar.
3. 27 Brigade (Brigadier Saadullah) ex?Mymensingh (two battalions) was moved to area Akhora?Brahmanbaria to protect the most threatened approach.
4. 17 Brigade at Comilla?Mainamati under Brigadier Manzoor Hussain Atif.
16 Division: No change in their ten battalions. Rangpur?Bogra?Rajshahi sector.
9 Division less one brigade (7 battalions): Jessore?Kushtia? Faridpur Sector.
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A new ad hoc 314 Brigade under Colonel Fazal Hamid with EPCAF was created for Khulna sector.
A new ad hoc 91 Independent Brigade (Brigadier Ata Malik) was created in Chittagong with one battalion, two companies, local garrison troops, and naval troops.
53 Brigade (Brigadier Aslam Niazi) on relief was moved to Dhaka as command reserve.
A new ad hoc 36 Division under Director?General EPCAF (Major?General jamshed) was created at Dhaka with a new ad hoc 93 Brigade (Brigadier Qadir Niazi) at Mymensingh with two battalions and CAF in the area.
Later an ad hoc 39 Division under Major?General M. Rahim Khan with 53 Brigade was raised to defend Chandpur under GHQ orders. GHQ did not send the promised replacement for Dhaka.
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For instance, Major?General Jamshed, Commander, East Pakistan Civil Armed Forces (EPCAF), was located in Dhaka, so when I went out to visit troops I took him along with me. All mistook him for the Divisional Commander of the Fourth Division.
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I got General Jamshed posted in his place. General Jamshed was commanding our fourth Division, which was an ad hoc Division and had only one ad hoc brigade of only two battalions of regular troops fighting in area Mymensingh.' He looked a bit perplexed.
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In compliance with GHQ orders I sent my Chief of Staff, Brigadier Baqir Siddiqui, and Major?General Jamshed, my Second?in?Command, to GHQ to give detailed briefings on past and likely future enemy actions, deployment of troops including Mujahids, EPGAF, and all other forces, and to present my appreciation of courses open for counter?insurgency and meeting the external threat.
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On 26 November 1 visited Nator to discuss operational plans with GOC 16 Division. I was not happy with the way 23 Brigade had fought in Panchagarh. However, the brigade commander, Brig. Ansari, was relieved of command by the GOC. I was fully satisfied with the Hilli operation by 205 Brigade and with the deployment of 107 Brigade in the south. My visits to 14 Division around Sylhet, Comilla, and Chittagong resulted in some adjustments of their positions. I was fully satisfied with the way they were fighting the battles.
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53 Brigade was command reserve. As mentioned earlier, it was moved to Ghandpur?Laxam sector under orders from GHQ. The eight battalions promised in November would have given me flexibility.
I tried to recreate the reserves and Col. Fazal Hamid's Khulna ad hoc Brigade was called back to Dhaka. A battalion from 14 Division and some ex 9 Division troops had arrived by 3 December, and General Rahim's ad hoc Division was withdrawn to Dhaka and deployed in Narayanganj. 93 ad hoc Brigade was also ordered to Dhaka and they took up inch of the ground in Dhaka and established communications in
Government quarters to fight in built?up areas.
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This sector was defended by 16 Division with its headquarters at Nator. Maj.?Gen. Nazar Hussain Shah, a fearless and intelligent divisional commander, commanded this Division, which comprised 23, 107, and 205 Brigades. Commanded by Brigadier Saeed Akhtar Ansari, 23 Brigade was responsible for the defence of DinaJpur Rangpur. Ansari was later relieved of the command of 23 Brigade due to his inept performance, which lacked the spark of a fighting commander. The Divisional Commander was completely dissatisfied with his handling of the military operation. He was replaced by Brigadier Shafi, Dhaka Logistic Area Commander. 205 Brigade was commanded by Brigadier Tajammul Hussain, whose task was to defend Hilli complex. After causing attrition on the enemy, he had to withdraw to Bogra according to the predetermined plans. The third Brigade, 107, was commanded by Brigadier Naeem. It was located in the depth and was holding Panitola, Nawabganj, and Inshurdi with one battalion each.
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