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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 July 2025
In early 1972, a group of Bengali civil servants residing in Islamabad were able to deliver a petition to David Ennals (1922–1995), a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) and human rights campaigner in the United Kingdom. Ennals, a former minister, was the leader of a group called the Friends of Bangladesh Conciliation Mission at the time. In their appeal for the safety of Bengalis in West Pakistan, the petitioners described their circumstances as below:
All Bengali junior ranks, up to Lt Col., have been gathered into GHQ, even those with families, and we have no doubt that the conditions … are far from good. Senior married officers are, we think, still in their homes, even those like Lt. Gen. Wasiuddin, who have their names on the ICRC repatriation list … 28,000 Bengalis serving in the Army, Navy and Airforce have been sent on forced leave…. Officials, who are single or without families, have been taken to various Camps. Some of these camps are not provided with the basic amenities of life…. Officials are huddled into rooms much beyond capacity. They are being maltreated according to the whims of local commanding officers without any consideration of their status or seniority in service…. The plight of Bengalis is undoubtedly unpleasant….. The ICRC officials under the charge of Mr. [Michel] Testuz are being allowed to visit….
This chapter investigates Pakistan's encampment system for Bengali military personnel during the wartime period, 1971–1974. This reveals the captivity landscape by analysing the location, categorisation and spatial regulations of the camps in different parts of West Pakistan that housed Bengali military personnel, non-combatant servicemen and their families.
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