FILE- In this Dec. 7, 1970, file photo, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, center on Rostrum, leader of East Pakistan's powerful Awami League, addresses an election rally in Dacca, East Pakistan. A watershed moment occurred in 1970 amid strikes and rising hostilities, when East Pakistan’s Awami League, led by Bengali politician Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, swept the polls in a national election. The government rejected the results, spawning a civil disobedience movement. On March 26, 1971, Bangladesh declared independence, sparking the nine-month war. Pakistan launched a military operation to stop the move to independence, while India joined on the side of what is now Bangladesh. Pakistani forces surrendered on Dec. 16, 1971. (AP Photo/Dennis Lee Royle, File)