19 days later Operation Searchlight began and 9 months later Pakistan was dismembered

Sheikh Mujib's Awami League won 160 of the total 300 seats in the National Assembly in the 1970 elections. With this simple majority, his party did not even need allies to form a government in either wing of Pakistan. But General Yahya Khan's martial law government and People's Party leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto were adamant that power would not be transferred to the elected representatives of the majority of the country. What happened next is history. But here is a historic speech of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on March 7, 1971 in which he openly stated that the people of Pakistan had given him a mandate while the martial law administration was using delaying tactics to avoid handing over the government. Power to public representatives He demanded the end of martial law in this speech. 19 days later Operation Searchlight began and 9 months later Pakistan was dismembered #1971 #1970 #pakistan #Bangladesh