By IANS,
Dhaka : Bangladesh has said 3,713 of its soldiers died during the 1971 liberation war against Pakistan.
They were among the 25,505 officers and men of the Pakistan Army who joined the freedom war, a minister told parliament quoting official defence ministry statistics.
Minister of State for Liberation War Affairs Captain (retd) A.B. Tajul Islam told the house Sunday that in all 210,581 freedom fighters joined the liberation war.
Bangladesh’s freedom movement began in March 1971 after the army in the then East Pakistan cracked down on the civilian populace that had overwhelmingly elected the Awami League led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in an election in 1970.
Many officers and men of the Pakistan Army’s East Bengal Regiment and para-military East Bengal Rifles joined the resistance and fought as Mukti Bahini, trained by Indian armed forces.
When the war broke out in December 1971, a joint India-Bangladesh command fought in the eastern theatre and secured the surrender of 93,000 Pakistan Army personnel.