Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report


The Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report contains the Government of Pakistan's official and classified papers of the events leading up to loss of East Pakistan and the 1971 war with India. Initially, there were 12 copies of the report prepared by the Chief Justice Hamoodur Rahman; all were destroyed except one. That single report was handed over to the government, which forbade its publication at the time. The report was leaked eventually by the Indian and the Pakistani newspapers, including Dawn, drawing the attention of the public to its front pages in 2000. An editorial entitled, "Gen Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan - 4" written by Ardeshir Cowasjee on the basis of the Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report, demonstrated that "three men principally responsible for the loss, at the end of 1971, of half of Jinnah's Pakistan— end of story."
Originally, it was thought that the Government of Pakistan had declassified the Report in 2002 and was made it available to the public as public domain whereas it was free to download on the internet. However, it was reported to be a "Supplementary Report" which was created after the prisoners of war returned after two years. The First Report has never been published nor is it accessible to anyone.