Pakistani Instrument of Surrender
The Pakistani Instrument of Surrender () was a legal document signed between India (alongside the Provisional Government of Bangladesh) and Pakistan to end the Bangladesh Liberation War and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Per the trilateral agreement, the Pakistani government surrendered the Armed Forces Eastern Command, thereby enabling the establishment of the People's Republic of Bangladesh over the territory of East Pakistan. The document was signed by India's Jagjit Singh Aurora and Pakistan's A. A. K. Niazi, who corroborated the surrender of 93,000 Pakistani soldiers to India — the world's largest surrender in terms of number of personnel since World War II. Despite the agreement, Pakistan did not formally recognize Bangladeshi sovereignty until February 1974. The ratification of the agreement by all sides also marked the end of the Bangladesh genocide, perpetrated by Pakistan during the conflict. Bangladesh and the Indian Armed Forces celebrate Pakistan's 1971 defeat and surrender on an annual basis, observing 16 December as Victory Day. Surrender ceremony The surrender ceremony took place at the Ramna Race Course in Dacca, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), on 16 December 1971: A. A. K. Niazi of the Pakistan Army formally surrendered to Jagjit Singh Aurora, an Indian Army officer and