The Dominion of Pakistan comprised two geographically and culturally separate areas

to the east and the west with India in between.The western zone was popularly (and
for a period, also officially) termed West Pakistan and the eastern zone (modern-
day Bangladesh) was initially termed East Bengal and later, East Pakistan. Although
the population of the two zones was close to equal, political power was
concentrated in West Pakistan and it was widely perceived that East Pakistan was
being exploited economically, leading to many grievances. Administration of two
discontinuous territories was also seen as a challenge.

in 1970, when the Bangladesh Awami League, the largest East Pakistani political
party, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won a landslide victory in the national
elections. The party won 167 of the 169 seats allotted to East Pakistan, and thus a
majority of the 313 seats in the National Assembly. This gave the Awami League the
constitutional right to form a government. However, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (a former
Foreign Minister), the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, refused to allow
Rahman to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan.Amidst popular outrage in East
Pakistan, Sheikh Mujib declared the independence of "Bangladesh".