[1] Niazi's area of responsibility comprised the defense of East Pakistan from India during the war in 1971 and authors and critics within the Pakistani military held him morally responsible for his decision to unilaterally surrender the Pakistani Eastern Command, which resulted in the war's end in a decisive Indian victory as well as the independence of Bangladesh.

][3] After being held as a prisoner of war by the Indian military, he was repatriated to Pakistan on 30 April 1975 as part of the Delhi Agreement.

[6] After the war, he remained active in Pakistani politics and supported an ultra-conservative agenda under the Pakistan National Alliance against the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the 1970s.

[8] Khan was born in Mianwali, British India, in 1915, into a mixed Punjabi and Pathan family of the Niazi tribe.

On 11 June 1942, Lt. Niazi was stationed in the Kekrim Hills located in regions of Assam-Manipur to participate in the Burma front.

[9] They agreed on Niazi's skill in completely surprising the enemy, his leadership, coolness under fire, and his ability to change tactics, create diversions, extricate his wounded men.

[9] At the Burma front in 1944, Lt. Niazi impressed his superior officers when he commanded a platoon that initiated an offensive against the Imperial Japanese Army at the Bauthi-Daung tunnels.

[9] Lt. Niazi's gallantry had impressed his British commanders at GHQ India and they wanted to award him the Distinguished Service Order, but his rank was not high enough for such a decoration.

Warren, commander of the 161st Indian Infantry Brigade of the British Army, gave Niazi the soubriquet "Tiger" for his part in a ferocious fight with the Japanese.

[9] After the conflict, the British government decorated Lt. Niazi with the Military Cross for leadership, judgement, quick thinking and calmness under pressure in action along the border with Burma.

On 18 October 1966, he was promoted as Major-General and made General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 8th Infantry Division, stationed in Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan.

[19] On 10/11 April 1971, he headed a meeting of his senior commanders to assess the situation but, according to eyewitnesses, he used abusive language aimed at the Bengali rebels.

[18] From May through August 1971, the Indian Army trained Mukti Bahini led Operation Jackpot, a series of counter guerrilla campaigns against the Eastern Command, and Niazi began taking countermeasures against the Bengali rebellion.

[21] In November 1971, General Abdul Hamid Khan, the Chief of Staff of the army, warned him of an imminent Indian attack on the East and advised him to redeploy the Eastern Command on a tactical and political base ground but this was not implemented due to shortage of time.

[28] According to testimony by Major-General Rao Farman Ali to the War Enquiry Commission, Niazi's morale collapsed as early as 7 December.

Niazi broke down in tears that day when meeting Governor Abdul Motaleb Malik to deliver a progress report on the war.

[citation needed] The Pakistani military combat units found themselves involved in a guerrilla war with the Mukti Bahini under M. A. G.

[32] This eventually led Governor Abdul Motaleb to resign from his post and he took refuge with his entire cabinet at the Red Cross shelter at the Inter-Continental Dacca on 14 December.

[13] Niazi eventually took control of the civilian government and received a telegram on 16 December 1971 from President Yahya Khan: "You have fought a heroic battle against overwhelming odds.

The nation is proud of you ... You have now reached a stage where further resistance is no longer humanly possible nor will it serve any useful purpose ... You should now take all necessary measures to stop the fighting and preserve the lives of armed forces personnel, all those from West Pakistan and all loyal elements".

Subsequently, the Indian Army began encircling Dhaka and Lieutenant-General Jagjit Singh Aurora sent a message through Major-General Rafael Jacob that issued an ultimatum to surrender in a "30-minutes" time window on 16 December 1971.

[34] Niazi agreed to surrender and sent a message to Manekshaw despite many army officers declined to obey, although they were legally bound.

Niazi signed the Instrument of Surrender and handed over his personal weapon to J. S. Aurora in the presence of Indian and Bangladesh force commanders.

[citation needed] Niazi's personal weapon was gifted by J. S. Aurora to the Indian Military Academy for its golden jubilee celebration and preserved at National Museum in New Delhi.

[41] The change of order allowed Niazi to seek a pension and the medical assistance benefits enjoyed by retired military personnel.

[1] In April 1977, on the grounds that he had made objectionable speeches, he was arrested hours before Bhutto imposed martial law in the major cities of Karachi, Lahore and Hyderabad.

[citation needed] Though he showed no regrets, Niazi refused to accept responsibility for the Breakup of East Pakistan and squarely blamed President Yahya.