Editing Pakistani order of battle for Operation Searchlight in 1971

The Pakistani plan for a military action which commenced on March 25, 1971, in the then [[East Pakistan]] was code-named [[Operation Searchlight]]. This is the '''Operation Searchlight order of battle''' which was outlined on March 19, 1971, by Major General Khadim Hussain Raja, GOC 14th infantry division, and Major General [[Rao Farman Ali]] in the GHQ of Pakistan Army in Dhaka, (then)East Pakistan.

==Pakistani Forces==
[[File:March71.PNG|right|thumb|350px|Operation Searchlight troop distribution]]

===MLA Headquarters and Eastern Command in Dhaka===
Lt. General [[Tikka Khan]] Governor and Chief Martial Law Administrator
Major General Iftekhar Janjua – Advisor
Major General Shawkat Riza – Advisor
Brigadier Gulam Jilani – Chief of Staff MLA HQ
Brigadier Nessar Ahmed – Director General EPR

*14th Infantry Division: 
Major General Khadim Hussain Raja – GOC 14th Infantry Division and OC East Pakistan
Colonel Staff: Col. Saadullah
G.S.O -1 (Operations): Lt. Col Taj Khan
G.S.O -1 (Intelligence): Lt. Col Minwari

Attached Units:
**29th Cavalry - Lt.Col. Sagir Hussain Syeed (detached to Rangpur)
**43rd Light Ack Ack – Lt. Col. Shaffat Ali - Dhaka Airport
**19th Signal Regiment – Lt. Col. Iftekhar Hussain – Dhaka Cantonment
**Company 3rd Commando Battalion – Lt. Col. Z.A. Khan
**Army Aviation Squadron #4: 8 Helicopters (4 Mi-4 and 4 Alouette III)

[[Pakistan Air Force]]:
CO: Air Commodore Inam Ul  Haq Khan
**14th Squadron: 20 [[F-86]] Sabres
**3 [[T-33 Shooting Star|T-33]] and 2 Helicopters
**Temporary attachment: 4 [[C-130]] Hercules planes and PIA Fokker Friendship Aircraft.  
 
[[Pakistan Navy]]:
Rear Admiral Sharif
*PNS ''Jessore'' (Gunboat) (detached to Khulna)
*PNS ''Comilla'' (Gunboat)
*PNS ''Sylhet''  (Gunboat)

====[[Dhaka]]====
Major General Rao Farman Ali: Officer Commanding Dhaka Area
*57th Infantry Brigade: Brigadier General M. Jahanzeb Arbab 
**22nd Baluch Regiment: Pilkhana Dhaka
**18th Punjab Regiment
**32nd Punjab Regiment – Lt. Col. Taj
**31st Field Artillery Regiment – Lt. Col. Zahed Hassan
**13th Frontier Force Regiment – Reserve and Cantonment Security

====[[Comilla]]====
*53rd Infantry Brigade: Brig. Iqbal Shaffi
**31st Punjab – Lt. Col. Sarfraz Ahmed Khan and later Lt Col Riaz Hussain (stationed at Sylhet).
**20th Baluch – Lt. Col. SH Fatami (stationed at Chittagong).
**53rd Field Artillery – Lt. Col. Yakub Malik ( acting Garrison/Fortress Commander in absence of Brig Iqbal). 
**3rd Commando Battalion – Lt. Col. Z.A. Khan. (Moved to Dacca for Operation Searchlight).
**171st Mortar Battery.
**40th Field Ambulance – Lt. Col. A.N.M Jahangir.
**Brigade Intelligence Detachment   
Chittagong Relief Column: (Brig. Iqbal Shaffi)
**24th Frontier Force – Lt. Col Shahpur Khan (after Shahpur fell in action, the command of only infantry battalion in the Column was taken over by Brigadier Iqbal himself). 
**88th Mortar Battery.
**Brigade Signals Detachment. 
**No Engineering Elements.

====[[Chittagong]]====
CO: Brig. Iqbal Shafi from April when HQ 53 Brigade was airlifted from Comilla, replaced by 107 Brigade (ex 9 Division) on arrival from West Pakistan.

Lt. Col. Abdul Aziz Sheikh: Sector Commander EPR;

Brig Mujamdar - Center Commadant EBR.
**20th Baluch – Lt. Col. SH Fatami
***Company 31st Punjab

Pakistan Navy:
Commodore A.R. Mumtaj - Chittagong Naval Base
**PNS ''Jahangir'' (destroyer): Commander T.K Khan
**PNS ''Rajshahi'' (Gunboat) 
**PNS ''Balaghat'' (Patrol boat)

====[[Sylhet Division|Sylhet]]====
*31st Punjab – Lt. Col. Sarfraz Ahmed Khan.
***Company in [[Shamshernagar]]
***Company in [[Maulvi Bazar District|Maulavibazar]]

===[[Rangpur, Bangladesh|Rangpur]]===
*23rd Infantry Brigade: Brig. Abdullah Khan Malik
**20th Field Ambulance – Lt. Col Masud
**Brigade Signal & Engineers
**23rd Field Artillery – Lt. Col. Shaffi in Saidpur
**29th Cavalry – Lt. Col. Sagir Hussain Sayyed
**26th Frontier Force – Lt. Col. Hakeem A. Quereshi in Saidpur   
**25th Punjab – Lt. Col. Shafkat Baluch (detached to Rajshahi)
***23rd Field Regiment Company in Bogra: Captain Mohammad Reza
***25th Punjab Company in [[Pabna]]: Captain Asghar
***26th Frontier Force Company in [[Dinajpur District, Bangladesh|Dinajpur]]

===[[Jessore (city)|Jessore]]===
*107th Infantry Brigade: Brig A. R. Durrani
**25th Baluch Regiment
**24th Field Artillery (elements)
**55th Field Artillery
**7th Field Ambulance
**22nd Frontier Force – Lt Col. Shamsi (detached to Khulna)
***Company in Kushtia: Major Shoaib

==References==
{{no footnotes|date=December 2022}}
* {{cite book | title = Witness to Surrender | year = 1997 | author = Salik, Siddiq | author-link = Salik, Siddiq |  isbn = 984-05-1374-5 }}
* {{cite book | title = Surrender at Dacca: Birth of A Nation | year = 2004 | author = Jacob, Lt. Gen. JFR | publisher = The University Press Limited | isbn = 984-05-1532-2 }}
* {{cite book | title = The Indo Pak War of 1971: A Soldiers Narrative | year = 2003 | author = Qureshi, Maj. Gen. Hakeem Arshad | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 0-19-579778-7 }}
* {{cite book | title = A Tale of Millions | year = 2006 | author = Islam, Major Rafiqul |  publisher = Ananna | isbn = 984-412-033-0}}

{{Bangladesh Liberation war}}

[[Category:Bangladesh Liberation War]]
[[Category:Military operations involving Pakistan]]
[[Category:Orders of battle]]