Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971: Voices Raised at Pakistan Forum
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Publication Year | October 2026 |
| Author(s) |
Sharif Atiquzzaman |
| Journal Name | Journal of Genocide and Liberation War Research |
| Volume, Issue | 9 (English) July 2026 |
| Pagination | 15-52 |
| Article Type | Paper |
| DOI | doi.org/10.68002/2691 |
Keywords: war of independence, atrocity, Bangali, Bangladesh, Pakistan army, genocide
Attachment
Abstract: Pakistan Forum was a significant, progressive, and left-leaning journal founded in the United States in 1970 and branched out into Canada by Feroz Ahmed, then a Ph. D. scholar in demography at Johns Hopkins University. Soon, other Pakistani scholars and activists like political scientist and anti-war activist Eqbal Ahmad, anthropologist of rural Pakistan Saghir Ahmad, and Marxist philosopher and literary theorist Aijaz Ahmad, joined the journal’s editorial ranks. The journal also featured a substantial roster of contributors, including Islamic philosopher Fazlur Rahman, journalist and editor of the Pakistan Times Mazhar Ali Khan, and sociologists Hassan Gardezi and Jamil Rashid. In fact, the journal came out challenging Pakistan Student, a Pakistan Embassy-backed right-wing journal in the USA. Despite its name, Pakistan Forum became a critical voice supporting the Bangladesh liberation war in 1971. The journal emerged as an important platform for dissenting Pakistani voices in the diaspora, challenging the official narrative propagated by the Pakistani military establishment regarding the crisis in East Pakistan. Across its issues, Pakistan Forum’s editorials lent support to the Bangladesh liberation struggle. The journal played a crucial role in exposing the brutality of Pakistan’s suppression of the Bangladeshi uprising, publishing a series of articles and news reports on the Pakistani military’s atrocities in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). In 1971, the Forum published a compilation of articles and news reports detailing the violence, which was heavily advertised in its October 1971 issue. It highlighted the political failures and injustices of the West Pakistani establishment, arguing against the violent military crackdown initiated on 25 March 1971. Arguably, the most significant component of the journal was its editorial section, which advanced positions that were quite unpopular at the time but have, in hindsight, proved quite prescient. In one, Pakistan’s military atrocities of 1970-71 in East Pakistan were condemned in no uncertain terms, and unequivocal support was lent to the nationalist aspirations of Bengalis. In its brief three-year stint, the journal published 24 issues covering an impressive range of topics that reshaped public opinion and policy debate in Pakistan.