When we talk about the creation of Pakistan, our minds often go to Lahore, Karachi, or Quetta. But there’s a city, far away from the western wing, that stood with Pakistan from the very start, Dhaka.

It was in Dhaka where blood was shed for the dream of a separate homeland. The people there did not hesitate when it came to joining hands with their Muslim brothers in the West. They fought, they rallied, and they believed. And yet, decades later, they were the ones we let fall.

Bengal’s Role in the Pakistan Movement

Before 1947, Bengal was not just a participant in the struggle, it was a driving force. Three prominent leaders stood out: A. K. Fazl-ul-Huq, H. S. Suhrawardy, and Khwaja Nazimuddin.

Fazl-ul-Huq was unpredictable. One day he spoke of Islamic unity, the next of Bengali nationalism. But despite his political somersaults, he did something monumental; he presented the Lahore Resolution in 1940, the very foundation of Pakistan’s creation. Even if he later parted ways with the Muslim League, his role in paving the road to independence is undeniable.

Nazimuddin was the steady one, conservative, pro-British, and loyal to Jinnah. He was not the kind to whip up crowds, but his reliability made him a trusted ally to the Quaid.

And then there was Suhrawardy, sharp, strategic, and deeply committed to the idea of Pakistan. He understood that for Bengali Muslims, joining the Pakistan movement was not just an option, it was survival. When elections came in 1946, he led the Muslim League to a sweeping victory in Bengal, crushing Fazl-ul-Huq’s party and securing 113 out of 119 Muslim seats. He won 113 seats out of 119 seats from Bengal. The Bengalis demanded Pakistan. They stood with Quaid and his Pakistan.

Suhrawardy even proposed the idea of a United Bengal. A single, independent Muslim-majority Bengal that would be friendly to Pakistan. Quaid-e-Azam supported it, knowing East and West Pakistan were a thousand miles apart and difficult to keep united. He understood that geography and economics could someday pull the two wings apart. But the Congress refused, and Bengal was partitioned. Pakistan got East Bengal, poor, underdeveloped, and cut off from the industrial heart in Calcutta. So, Quaid had already predicted that a East and West Pakistan is bound to fall.

The Betrayal of 1971

Fast forward to 1971, and the dream had turned into a nightmare.

East Bengal had long been neglected. The devastating 1970 cyclone killed over 200,000 people, and the central government in the West barely responded. Famine followed, and economic disparity grew. The feeling of being second-class citizens became reality. They were left to starve and under acute poverty. 

Then came Operation Searchlight. Yahya Khan claimed it was to target rebels, but the orders told another story, arresting politicians, storming Dhaka University, cutting communications, replacing Bengali soldiers with West Pakistani troops, and even attacking Hindu-majority neighborhoods. It was a crackdown that left East Bengal isolated, starved, looted, and shamed. Women were raped. Cities were shelled. Raped women were isolated and left alone to give birth to the “damned” kids of Yahya’s men. The camouflaged men came and killed thousands of Bengalis they had sworn to protect.  Any kind of communication with the outside world was seized, which a dire human right violation.  

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who once a staunch supporter of Jinnah and Fatima Jinnah, was arrested. And in those months, the bond that had united East and West was torn apart. India, sensing opportunity, stepped in to aid East Bengal’s independence and spread the “Divide Pakistan” rule.

Yet, Dhaka Never Truly Turned Away

Despite everything, the neglect, the betrayal, the violence, Bangladesh today does not stand as an enemy of Pakistan. During recent Indo-Pak tensions, many Bengalis openly waved Pakistani flags in solidarity. It is almost unbelievable, considering the history, but it shows something profound: the people of Dhaka, at their core, have not forgotten the bond we once shared.

Bicharne walay main sab kuch thaa

Bewafai na thi

Naseer Turabi, wrote this beautiful poem after the fall of Dhaka highlighting how Bangladesh was indeed a land of loyal people.

As Pakistan celebrates 78 years of independence, it is time to remember that East Bengal’s blood was shed for the same green flag we raise today. We owe it to history and to humanity, to acknowledge that we failed them and to realize that they too founded Pakistan.

Dhaka never betrayed us. The least we can do now is remember their loyalty, their sacrifices, and their undying spirit. Because a nation that forgets the friends it abandoned is a nation that risks repeating its mistakes.