Operation Trident

Prelude:

The Indo-Pak conflict that commenced in the 1940s snowballed into a major war in 1965, where Pakistan faced a humiliating defeat at the hands of Indian Armed forces. Fast forward to 1970, the general election results in Pakistan perturbed the West Pakistani leaders as the Awami League won a clear mandate to form the government, ironically leading to a stalemate as the West Pakistani elites didn’t approve of this result. This led to a mass civil uprising in the East, and there was a mass exodus of people into India, which was estimated to be 10 million in number. The Indian government urged all the international agencies at the start of 1971 to intervene but to no avail. Meanwhile, our forces were prepared for a military intervention to bring stability to the region. The Naval forces chalked out a detailed plan, and forces were allocated to the Eastern and Western commands, respectively. This paved the way for a historical victory in December that year.

Looking at the timeline, it was the Pakistani media, which was in coordination with the state, that ran a campaign to “Crush India”. By October 1970, it was clear that war was inevitable between the two nations. On the 3rd of December, pressure mounted on Pakistan, and they shot themselves in the foot by ordering airstrikes on eight Indian airfields. The Indian side was waiting for the initiation as they ordered the troops to capture Dhaka as well as keep the Pakistanis at bay on the western front, but it was Operation Trident that put the rivals on the back foot from the get-go.

Operation Trident:

The Pakistan navy was caught napping when the task group formed by the Indian Navy made it to the south of Karachi and attacked the area at night as the PAF aircraft did not have night-bombing capabilities. The task group had Vidyut missile boats, INS Nipat, INS Nirghat and INS Veer in addition to INS Kiltan and INS Poshak. While INS Nirghat successfully destroyed the PNS Khaibar using the SS-N-2B Styx missile, INS Nipat took care of targets in the northeast direction, destroying MV Venus Challenger (which was carrying ammunition) and its escort PNS Shah Jahan in the process. The operation continued towards Karachi, as two more missiles directed towards Kemari Oil storage tanks induced heavy damage on the enemy side.

The Indian side returned home without any casualties or damage, and the operation was a huge success, prompting another attack on Karachi four days later, known as Operation Python. However, this unexpected move by the Indian navy left the Pakistan Armed Forces Command scrambling, as they attempted to limit the damage by locating the survivors of PNS Khaibar, completely unaware of the sinking of PNS Muhafiz.

The ease with which the Indian Navy finished the operation must be attributed to their proactiveness in inducting five Petya-class submarine chasers, four submarines, and submarine rescue vessels in the late 60s. They also got eight Soviet missile boats, which played a huge role in denting Pakistan’s chances. To add to this, the Pakistan Navy was in total tatters and lacked communication between the eastern and the western fronts. 

On the Eastern side, the Indian army did not waste any time as they penetrated the region through Blitzkrieg techniques, with Pakistan’s Eastern command having very little resistance to offer. The IAF took over the Dhaka airfield, whereas the Indian Navy cut off sea links to East Pakistan. The Indian army stepped into Dhaka and served a 30-minute ultimatum to surrender. The commander of Eastern Command, Lt-Gen. A A K Niazi, and his deputy, V-Adm. M S Khan accepted the ultimatum, leading to the collapse of the government.

Aftermath:

The Indian army captured approximately 93,000 Pakistani soldiers who were declared as the prisoners of war and were treated according to the Geneva Convention. They were transported to war camps across India and were slowly released at the Wagah border. Unfortunately, the 54 Indian prisoners of war detained by the Pakistan army never made it back due to documentation issues created by Pakistan authorities. It is believed that some of the soldiers are still suffering in prison, whereas some of them have lost their lives due to illness.