East Pakistan Central Peace Committee was one of several committees formed in

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

in 1971 to aid efforts of Pakistani forces during the Bangladesh War of Independence.

Nurul Amin Nurul Amin (15 July 1893 – 2 October 1974) was a Pakistani politician and jurist who served as the eighth prime minister of Pakistan from 7 December to 20 December 1971. His premiership term of only 13 days was the shortest served in Pakista ...

, as a leader of

Pakistan Democratic Party The Pakistan Democratic Party (PDP) was a political party in Pakistan, founded by Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan in June 1967. Nawbzada Nasrullah Khan led the party until his death in 2003. After Nawab's death, the party's leadership was later taken ...

, led the formation of the Shanti Committee to thwart the

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini, initially called the Mukti Fauj, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was a big tent armed guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military personnel, paramilitary personnel and civilians during the Ba ...

, which fought for independence of the region.

Background

On 25 March 1971, the war in East Pakistan began. On 4 April 1971, twelve pro-Pakistan leaders, including

Ghulam Azam Ghulam Azam (7 November 192223 October 2014) was Bangladeshi politician and writer who served as Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. He was vocal in gaining support for Operation Searchlight, a crackdown o ...

and Khwaja Khairuddin, met General Tikka Khan of the Pakistan Army and assured him of co-operation in opposing the Bengali rebellion. After subsequent meetings, they announced the formation of Citizen Peace Committee, with 140 members. The first recruits included 96 Jamaat-e-Islami members, who started training in an Ansar camp at Khanjahan Ali Road,

Khulna Khulna (, ) is the third-largest city in Bangladesh, after Dhaka and Chittagong. It is the administrative centre of the Khulna District and the Khulna Division. It is the divisional centre of 10 districts of the division. Khulna is also the seco ...

. The Shanti Committee is also alleged to have recruited Razakars.''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', 27 July 1971; quoted in the book ''Muldhara 71'' by Moidul Hasan

History

The leaders of the East Pakistan Central Peace Committee called on citizens of Pakistan to defend Pakistan from ''"Indian aggression"'', as India was accused of supporting the Bangladesh movement. The Peace Committee organised a rally from Baitul Mukarram to Chawkbazar Mosque on 13 April. The rally was to end with a meeting near

New Market, Dhaka New Market () is the largest commercial shopping market in Bangladesh in north of Azimpur, Dhaka, Azimpur, Dhaka. It is situated on the opposite side of Chandni Chowk, Dhaka, Chandni Chowk. History The market was set up 1954 as a shopping comple ...

. At the end of the rally, riots began in Azimpur, Shantinagar and Shankhari Bazar areas, fire was set to houses of individuals supportive of independence and some were killed. The Peace Committee spread throughout East Pakistan, reaching even rural villages. Compared to the indiscriminate killing of Pakistan Army, the Peace Committee were more specific and guided by lists, they made of opponents. The members of Peace Committee were feared and hated by the population of East Pakistan. Peace committee members were killed during the war. On 14 April, at a meeting in Dhaka, the Citizen Peace Committee renamed itself as the East Pakistan Central Peace Committee. A working committee was formed consisting of 21 members. They set up an office in Maghbazar. The Peace Committee appointed one or more liaison officers for the different police station areas of Dhaka. On 17 April 1971, the members of the peace committee apprised Governor

Tikka Khan Tikka Khan, also known as the Butcher of Bengal.Tikka Khan title: * * * * * * * * (; 10 February 1915 – 28 March 2002) was a Pakistani military officer and war criminal who served as the first Chief of the Army Staff (Pakistan), chief of the a ...

of the progress made by them toward restoring normalcy and confidence among the citizens. The central peace committee was being deputed to the district and divisional headquarters throughout east Pakistan. When Pakistani troops arrived in Munshiganj, south of the capital, on 9 May 1971, they were warmly received by the local peace committee and other residents. According to the historian Azadur Rahman Chandan in his 2011 book about the war, the Peace Committee was the first organisation to be set up by local residents who collaborated with Pakistan. Its members were drawn from the Muslim League which thought an independent Bangladesh was against Islam; as well as the

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

-speaking Biharis.

Tasks

* This was a pro-Pakistan local militia formed during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. * They collaborated with the Pakistan Army to suppress the Bengali nationalist movement. * Members of this committee were involved in: ** Targeted killings of Bengali nationalists and intellectuals. ** Supporting the Pakistan Army in atrocities, including massacres and widespread rape. ** Instigating violence and terrorizing Bengali civilians. * They earned a notorious reputation for betrayal and brutality against the Bengali population.

Abolition

On 16 December 1971, after the end of the war, the committee was abolished.

Former members

* Khwaja Khairuddin - President of East Pakistan Council Muslim League

Notes

References

{{1971 Bangladesh genocide Politics of the Bangladesh Liberation War Reactions to the Bangladesh Liberation War 1971 establishments in Bangladesh Wartime collaboration History of East Pakistan Bangladeshi war crimes East Pakistan