Al-Shams (East Pakistan)

The Al-Shams (Bengali: আল শামস) was an anti-Bangladesh paramilitary wing of several Islamist parties in East Pakistan composed of local Bengalis and Biharis that along with the Pakistan Army and the Al-Badr, is accused of conducting a mass killing campaign against Bengali nationalists, civilians, religious and ethnic minorities during 1971. 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, which led to Bangladesh's independence.

Al-Shams is an Arabic word meaning 'The Sun'. Al Shams and Al-Badr were local Bengali and Bihari armed groups formed by the Pakistan Army which were mostly recruited from the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami to fight out and resist Mukti Bahini.

On 25 March 1971, after Operation Searchlight, the exiled leadership of what is now Bangladesh declared independence from Pakistan and armed struggle against the Pakistani Army began. This struggle was spearheaded by elements of Mukti Bahini with strong support from India. As most of the locals were in support of Mukti Bahini and those who were not were killed by Mukti Bahini, the Pakistani Army, composed largely of elements from Punjab, found itself and its cause pretty much alienated from the local populace.

In order to counter this situation, the Pakistan Army accepted help from Islamic fundamentalist parties including Jamaat-e-Islami, proclaiming Jihad against Indians, to seek unity among the population for the two wings of Pakistan, in the name of religion. It described Bengali nationalism as an Indo-Zionist conspiracy. The PPP played an active role in its formation. It also recruited from the Urdu speaking Bihari population of East-Pakistan. This Jihad was between the Pakistani Army and the liberation forces and their supporters (Indians and Mukti Bahini). To recruit the local populace into fighting the independence movement, two sister organizations Al Badr (literally meaning The Moon, but also has a reference to the famous Battle of Badr) and Al Shams were formed.

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