43 BALUCH IN 1971 AND INDIAN OFFICER WHO SAW THEM

1. INDIAN OFFICERS COMMENTS ON THIS SCRIBES ARTICLE ON 43RD BALUCH IN 1971
• March 2023
• DOI:
• 10.13140/RG.2.2.16083.25128
• Agha H Amin

2. •
•

3. • 43 Baluch was part of 88 Brigade of 10
Division. This battalion was most
incompetently employed in battle by 88
Brigade commander and suffered highest
fatal casualties in 1971 war on the western
front.
• If a person reads Brigadier Rizvi’s 1984
officially supported Punjab Regiment history,
and believes him , he would get the idea that
only 17 Punjab was fighting in this area ! But
this was sheer nonsense as this scribe
discovered.
• 88 Brigade comprising three battalions, 5 East
Bengal on right , 17 Punjab in the center and
and 40 Baluch on right were assigned puny
limited objectives in this area.

4. • 17 Punjab and 5th
East Bengal captured area
till Dhussi Bund between Chan Kalla and
Bhindi Aulakh as marked in yellow line in map
below on night 3rd
/4th
December 1971.

5. •

6. •
• The attacks started on 3rd
December 1971.

7. • 40 Baluch captured Toti post with little loss.1
• On 4th
December 175 men of 5th
East Bengal
defected to the Indian side.2
• Brigadier Rizvi placed the figure of 5th
East
Bengal men deserting to join Indians at 185
men including its mortar platoon.3
• Major General Sukhwant Singh who is a
better authority in this case placed number of
5th
East Bengal deserters, at 150 men.4
1
Page-259- HISTORY OF THE BALOCH REGIMENT-Op
cit.
2
Ibid.
3
21-Page-406- VETERAN CAMPAIGNERS-A HISTORY
OF THE PUNJAB REGIMENT-1759-1981- Brigadier S
Haider Abbas Rizvi- Wajidalis Limited- Lahore 1984.
4
1971 War: Battles of Burj and Fatehpur -Major
General Sukhwant Singh -Excerpts from INDIA’S WARS
SINCE INDEPENDENCE- published in Indian Defence
Review-16th
August 2020-
http://www.indiandefencereview.com/spotlights/19
71-war-battles-of-burj-and-fatehpur/

8. • This produced an operational crisis in 88
Brigade .
• 15 Punjab was tasked to disarm remaining
men of 5th
East Bengal, which was done on
night 6th
/7th
December 1971 and these men
were shifted to Kot Lakhpat Jail.5
• 43 Baluch which was a part of the reserve
brigade had already been brought in the
area , on 3rd
December 1971 to ,relieve 5 East
Bengal as 88 Brigade commander was
sceptical about the loyalty of 5th
East Bengal.
• The reader must note that this was a newly
raised orphan battalion and was callously
pushed into an uncertain situation, while 17
5
Page-399- VETERAN CAMPAIGNERS-A HISTORY OF
THE PUNJAB REGIMENT-1759-1981-Op cit.
399- VETERAN CAMPAIGNERS-A HISTORY OF THE
PUNJAB REGIMENT-1759-1981-Op cit.

9. Punjab ,which knew the area well could have
been assigned this task.
• As 43 Baluch was taking over the area held by
5 East Bengal, it was attacked by Indian tanks
and infantry and suffered, heaviest fatal
losses among all battalions which fought the
war in west Pakistan.
• Baluch Regiment history claimed that Indians
attacking 43 Baluch were guided by Bengali
deserters from East Bengal.6
• Indian general Sukhwant Singh exercised
extreme intellectual dishonesty in stating that
only one Indian tank troop attacked 43
Baluch.7
6
Page-260- HISTORY OF THE BALOCH REGIMENT-Op
cit.
7
25- 1971 War: Battles of Burj and Fatehpur -Major
General Sukhwant Singh -Excerpts from INDIA’S WARS

10. • Indian armoured corps was more
intellectually honest and placed Indian
strength at two tank troops.8
• Pakistani Baluch Regiment historian was one
other extreme in massive exaggerations and
placed Indian counter attacking force strength
at a tank squadron and two infantry
companies.9
• 17 Punjab was not affected by this attack as it
was on the safer right flank.
SINCE INDEPENDENCE- published in Indian Defence
Review-16th
August 2020-
http://www.indiandefencereview.com/spotlights/19
71-war-battles-of-burj-and-fatehpur/
8
Page-519- The Indian armour history of the Indian
Armoured Corps -1941-1971- Major General
Gurcharan Singh Sandhu-Vision Books-Delhi.
9
Page-260- HISTORY OF THE BALOCH REGIMENT-Op
cit.

11. • Rizvi claims that 17 Punjab repulsed the
Indian attack but this claim seems far fetched
as 17 Punjab suffered only 13 fatal casualties
in the entire 1971 war.

12. •

13. •

14. • On 10th
December 1971 17 Punjab relieved 43
Baluch which was back in Fatehpur enclave
since 7th
December and holding its northern
part. 10
•
• The battalion suffered highest fatal casualties
on the western front , losing 67 other ranks
and 2 officers killed.11
•
• The battalion lost two officers killed, i.e,
Major Sai fur Rehman and its adjutant Captain
Farooq S Haider.12
10
Page-260- HISTORY OF THE BALOCH REGIMENT-Op
cit.
11
Page-352- HISTORY OF THE BALOCH REGIMENT-Op
cit.
12
Page-260- HISTORY OF THE BALOCH REGIMENT-Op
cit.

15. • Another important factor to judge a units
level of leadership which is assessed by
studying if its officers were leading from the
front or not ?
•
• No gallantry award was awarded to this ultra
brave battalion because of a thoroughly
biased and sadistic brigade commander,
Brigadier Hayatullah 13
,14
and an equally
rabidly sadistic GOC 10 Division , Major S.A.Z
Naqvi
•
13
Page-199- THE PAKISTAN ARMY-1966-1971- Major
General Shaukat Riza- Wajid Alis Private (Limited)-
Lahore-1990
14
Page-198- THE PAKISTAN ARMY-1966-1971- Major
General Shaukat Riza- Wajid Alis Private (Limited)-
Lahore-1990

16. • The battalion performed outstandingly but
was hurled into battle without a sound plan
by a most blockheaded brigade and divisional
commander and suffered pointless and totally
unnecessary casualties.
•
• 88 Brigade was biggest failure of 1971 war
thanks to brigadier Hayatullah and major
general S.A.Z Naqvi.
•
• 88 Brigade was biggest failure of 1971 war
thanks to brigadier Hayatullah and major
general S.A.Z Naqvi.