Al-Badr (East Pakistan)

The Al-Badr was the paramilitary wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) that collaborated with the Pakistan Army against the Bengali nationalist movement in the Bangladesh Liberation War. The present chief of the Jamaat, Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami headed the Al-Badr organisation as the all-Pakistan Commander in Chief during the war. The group was banned by the independent government of Bangladesh, but most of its members had fled the country during and after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

Naming and Inspirations

Al-Badar means The Battlefield of Badar. The politics of the force, were advertised as intermingled with Jihad, the holy war of the Prophet Muhammad 1400 years earlier. However, as the war unfolded it became obvious that the group had malicious intentions that were clearly not in alignment with the Prophet's Sunnah or the Prophet's prescription of what constitutes a legal Jihad. The name Al-Badar was given by major Riaz hussain during the passing out ceremony of first Al-badar group. However, the war between Pakistan and Bangladesh was a nationalistic war, not a religious one.

Background

On 25 March 1971, after beginning the Bangladesh Liberation War, Pakistani military forces required military support from Bengali supporters who still wanted to live with Pakistan, or did not like Indian interaction in the movement; as well as the non-Bengali muhajirs in order to abolish the independence fighters of Bangladesh, the Mukti Bahini, Hemayet Bahini and Kaderiya Bahini. The Al Badar were formed to detect these independence fighters and to have guides as well as co-fighters who were familiar with the local terrain.
The force was composed of madrasa students-teachers, Bengali supporters of Muslim League and Jamaat E Islami, and muhajirs coming from non-Bengali part of India.
There were three type of Paramilitary forces Pakistan formed,
1. Razakars: refuges who were came from other parts of India during separation of India and Pakistan, and setteled in East PAkistan.
2. Al-Badar: Bengali Muslim Students from Colleges, universities and madrasah, who were loyal to Jamat-e-islami.
3. Al-Shams: Bengali Madrasah Students, teachers & supporters of islamic parties other than Jamat-E-Islami (these smaller parties included Nejam-e-Islami and various factions of Muslim League).
Al-Badar was a very organized para military force among those three forces, they had their own hierarchy of organization & reporting system.

Tasks

The Al Badar were assigned a variety of combat and non-combat tasks including:

• Taking part in the operations
• Spying against Muktibahini
• Interrogation
• Working as the guides of the regular army
• Assassination
• Detecting and killing Mukti Bahni Soildiers
• Providing supply line to front army

Al-Badr is an unequivocal, direct offspring of Jamaat, and it had been created to facilitate mass-murder, and various war crimes in support of the occupying Pakistani army.

Abolition

On 16 December 1971, Pakistan surrendered. Members of Al-Badar, along with Razakar, and the Shanti Committee also surrendered. As they all were Bengali by ethnicity, Bangladeshis treated them as traitors, rather than arresting them and treating them as Prisoners of War. Many of the Al-Badr members were rightfully brought to justice by the independent government of Bangladesh. However, a large majority of them escaped any form of legal prosecution and are currently enjoying great prosperity in the country despite widespread disapproval from the general population. .