Editing Yahya Khan (section)

==Villainy==
Like other Pakistani leaders before him, Khan placed limits on the freedoms of voters, indicating that the integrity of the country of Pakistan was more important than the election outcomes. This practice of “Basic Democracy” had been used in the past to provide the appearance of democracy while still leaving the military in true control. For example, he helped execute the infilitration of Kashmir during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965

In order to prevent East Pakistan from becoming independent in 1970, Khan instituted martial law. Riots and strikes erupted across East Pakistan. His main political rival, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, began a civil disobedience movement in front of a crowd of 50,000 on March 7, 1971. A last ditch effort to avert war occurred in Dhaka, the capital of East Pakistan, from March 16 to 24. Mujibur and Khan met, discussed the issues, and seemingly reached an agreement—but on the night of March 25, Mujibur was arrested and 60-80,000 West Pakistani soldiers, who had been infiltrating East Pakistan for several months, began what would be known as [[Operation Searchlight]], the massacre of Bengali civilians by Pakistani soldiers. This is turn sparked both the [[1971 Bangladesh Genocide]] and the Bangladesh Liberation War.

Estimates for the total number of deaths range from 500,000 to over 3 million, with the death toll having become politicized over the years, says Lisa Curtis, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center.
[[Category:Military]]
[[Category:Oppressors]]
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