The book chronicles the daring escape attempts of 42 heroes, recounting the diverse experiences of approximately 1000 individuals, including military personnel, civilians, women, and children. It celebrates the unwavering bravery of those who risked their lives in audacious escapes from the Prisoner of War camps between 1971 and 1973, serving as a tribute to their valor.

In the later part of 1971, I, then Captain Yasin, was deployed as Signal Company Commander at Sylhet in the northern part of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) as part of the 202 ad hoc Brigade, which was created to beef up the defenses of Sylhet Zone. This was beside 303 Brigade, which was already there in this zone. One evening, in November 1971, I came to my room at about 10 pm and found my roommate, Captain Nasir of 31 Punjab Regiment, restless on his folding cot. When I asked him about his restlessness, he stated that he believed that his time of Shahadat (martyrdom) had arrived. He said that the next morning, he was to lead a platoon attack on a Mukti Bahini defended locality in Chatak area. He felt that without reconnaissance and adequate preparations, the attack was bound to fail, and he might be killed in the skirmish. I consoled him, but in vain. He said that in spite of his premonition, he was willing to stake his life in the line of duty as a loyal soldier, and the next morning, as scheduled, he left for his mission. 
Around noon, I witnessed Captain Nasir's premonition come true when a truck brought back his dead body along with others from his platoon. He was buried the same evening in a desolate graveyard dedicated to the martyrs of United Pakistan. The Muktis were infamous for digging up the graves of our Shaheeds (martyrs), mutilating the bodies, and leaving them for vultures and dogs. Consequently, his grave was promptly cemented to prevent such desecration, forever enclosing him in a sepulcher. Though the demoralizing treatment of a Shaheed was disheartening, it had sadly become a reality in East Pakistan, necessitating this encasement procedure.
Captain Nasir's martyrdom left me profoundly upset, and I pledged to myself that if I survived this ordeal, I would endeavor to do something in recognition of the Shuhada who rested in unmarked graves. At that time, I had no clue about what could or should be done, but this commitment to myself continued to shape me. Throughout my military career, I consistently explored various ideas on how best to implement what I had vowed to do.
In early 2017, I left a private job and decided to study the events of 1971 afresh, though without a definitive aim. Looking through the lists of English books on the events of 1971, I discovered that the majority comprised books authored by Indians and Bengalis. Most blamed us, the Pakistani military, for all kinds of atrocities, mindless brutal killings, and rapes. I knew from my personal observations of the year 1971 that this was absolutely a farce and decided to play my role in correcting this misperception.
One book that impressed me with its candid narration of facts was titled "Witness to Carnage, 1971," written by Brigadier Karrar Ali Agha (Retired), Signals. Brigadier Agha served as a Major in East Pakistan during the events of 1971 and was privy to many issues from close quarters. Although this book was initially published in 2011, it had gone out of print. Recognizing its significance, I believed that the book should be reprinted.
Consequently, I assembled a group of six senior retired officers and proposed that the book by Brigadier Karrar Ali Agha should be reprinted, as it offered a more objective view of our side of the story. Lieutenant General Tahir Mahmud Qazi (Retired), Air Defense, who had previously overseen the republication of a book about East Pakistan, agreed to undertake this assignment pro bono, collaborating with the original author. Since then, the book has been successfully reprinted.

The Muktis were infamous for digging up the graves of our Shaheeds (martyrs), mutilating the bodies, and leaving them for vultures and dogs. Consequently, his grave was promptly cemented to prevent such desecration, forever enclosing him in a sepulcher. Though the demoralizing treatment of a Shaheed was disheartening, it had sadly become a reality in East Pakistan, necessitating this encasement procedure.

General Qazi also offered a suggestion that someone ought to undertake documentation of the escape attempts from India by Pakistani military officers who, against all odds, had made truly heroic efforts, and in some cases, even lost their lives. I supported the project and we approached two established military writers for this assignment, which carried no financial benefit or logistic support. Regrettably, both declined. General Qazi then proposed that I, being a veteran of erstwhile East Pakistan, should undertake this challenging assignment. To facilitate the research that would be at the core of this venture, he offered me the services of Lieutenant Colonel Syed Jamil Mukhtar Shah (Retired) EME, pro bono, who had an interest in book writing and Pakistan Studies. Thus we both launched this project, with one written escape story, two telephones and two laptops. As an Advisor, we co-opted Lieutenant General Shahid Siddiq Tirmizey (Retired), Punjab Regiment, who had himself participated in the events of 1971 in East Pakistan and had subsequently served time as a Prisoner of War (POW). His advice was frequently needed whenever we ran into problems of accuracy of information due to conflicting views or details. He facilitated us tremendously in the smooth steering of the project.  Lieutenant Colonel Jamil also brought tremendous energy and perseverance to the project, delving incisively into issues, which helped in the completion of our project in a befitting manner. Once the book was nearing completion, we requested Major General Ovais Mushtaq Qureshi (Retired), Ordnance Corps, to review and edit the book. He was most helpful in this assignment and handling various issues related to the book project. Actually, for the last one year, all four of us have worked devotedly towards this national project of honoring the ‘braves’ of Pakistan
The project saw many ups and downs and periods of low morale. Yet, we continued to remain unfazed and accepted the challenges as they confronted us. We also decided that we would not take any financial benefit from this endeavor. It would be treated as  “sadqa” (charity).

Biharis, who bore the brunt of ultranationalist Bengalis, had to flee to Burma, Thailand, or India to safeguard their lives from the mass killings perpetrated by the Mukti Bahini, despite the overall control and presence of the Indian military as the dominant force. 

The biggest challenge that we faced was information gathering. Most official sources, when approached, showed their inability to help, as no such record was compiled in the past or was available in any form. Even a list of veterans of East Pakistan was not readily available. Through our grapevine, essentially the “old boys” net, we compiled lists of veterans and their contacts (telephones, emails, and addresses etc.). I also had, as an asset, my personal experience of the command of a company in East Pakistan and two years’ captivity, which facilitated recognizing and approaching the veterans. 
One major issue that we confronted was the health of living veterans, all of whom were in their seventies or beyond. Some were bedridden, incapacitated, or suffering from conditions like Parkinson's or dementia. A significant number, approximately 40 percent, had already passed away, further diminishing the pool available for consultation. Most of those who had passed away held senior ranks. The delayed start, by about 50 years, in undertaking this project remained a serious concern for the majority. However, the fact that we were taking on this assignment voluntarily reassured them about our sincerity in giving due honor to the true heroes of Pakistan.
In this book, we have covered all segments of Pakistani society affected by the struggle in East Pakistan, such as Pakistan Army, Pakistan Navy (PN), Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Shipping Corporation, and the Bihari Community. In military ranks, the stories cover all ranks from Sepoys to Brigadiers. Most arms and services of the Army were involved in the escape activity with exemplary courage. However, there were also individuals who were lured by captors to spy on their compatriots. Frequently, with the help of such moles, they were successful in detecting escape activities, which resulted in severe punishments.
Over the course of three years, our research has allowed us to compile forty-two stories that encompass various aspects of the conclusion of the 1971 War in East Pakistan and the treatment of POWs in Indian captivity. As hostilities came to an end, we have accounts of PAF pilots, PIA staff, Army Aviation personnel, and agricultural aviation aircraft risking their safety by flying out of East Pakistan to Burma or China. Sailors of the Pakistan Navy took one of their gunboats to Malaysia to escape the trauma of surrender. Biharis, who bore the brunt of ultranationalist Bengalis, had to flee to Burma, Thailand, or India to safeguard their lives from the mass killings perpetrated by the Mukti Bahini, despite the overall control and presence of the Indian military as the dominant force. The Indians simply ignored the heinous activities of Mukti Bahini or the vindictive killings by Bengalis. Prima facie, they were happy to see Muslims kill Muslims and thereby foster mutual animosity and hatred.
The receipt of stories had no specific sequence or order. Collecting and confirming information took weeks as we engaged other inmates from the same camp to establish the veracity of occurrences as stated by individuals. Recording of the stories was done through notes and tape recordings on mobile phones. Occasionally, recordings were lost due to technical glitches. Approximately eight stories were written by the narrators themselves or other friendly writers, as indicated in the book. Clues about the escape attempts mostly came from ex-POWs, which were then cross-checked for accuracy. Once the majority of the stories were collected, we began the task of gathering photos of the brave souls. This proved to be a challenging endeavor, particularly in cases where the officer had passed away or their family had migrated abroad. In summary, it can be stated that approximately six months were dedicated to the collection and handling of photos, including the development of sketches depicting various activities.

The stories reflect positively on the courageous and innovative conduct of Pakistani military officers, who were not deterred by draconian punishments. In some cases, soldiers displayed bravery and innovation, reflecting their resilience. One can surmise that Pakistanis as a nation have boldness, courage, and sacrifice built into their character. The camaraderie displayed amongst the officers was remarkable and noteworthy. Compassion towards fellow officers, the sick and injured, and especially civilian internees was also remarkable.

Alleged atrocities and rapes in East Pakistan during 1971 have been a major theme of Indian and Bangladeshi propaganda related to 1971 and thereafter. Rather this is one of the abiding themes of their propaganda even after a lapse of over 50 years. While this issue is touched upon in this book, it is done so only in passing by some of the narrators of the stories.
Families of the veterans were frequently involved in the process of information gathering by us. At times, they motivated recalcitrant veterans to share their stories and assist us in documenting the truth for posterity. Some family members regarded our book as an opportunity to preserve the heroic feats of their elders that were otherwise at risk of being lost. Offsprings of the veterans from East Pakistan, including those residing in the United Kingdom (UK), the USA, Canada, or Japan, expressed interest in our story collection efforts. This active involvement generated enthusiasm among the veterans and facilitated our task of gathering as many stories as possible while cross-checking available information.
Cross-checking assumed great importance, as we were committed to documenting the truth to the best of our ability. This was necessitated by the haze created by an intervening period of fifty years, during which memories became foggy and some of the relevant actors had passed away.
One possible source of information explored by the authors was the books written by the POWs after repatriation to Pakistan. A large number of such books narrated their ordeals and perceived causes of the fiasco. However, most were written in Urdu and had gone out of print after the first edition. Their copies were also lost in the humdrum of time. We also recognized, to our dismay, that books or book reading, unfortunately in Pakistan, are not popular. Very few are willing to spend money on books. Scholastic standing is not admired by most, and it is taken as a lazy man's escapade. Out of the forty-two stories recounted by us, we have been able to use previously printed material only in nine cases. Another problem is that Urdu books also have a low market value, and their circulation is rather limited.
An interesting occurrence that I would like to recount in the context of consultation of previously written books is that of a Sepoy whose singularly unique method of escaping came to our knowledge. This Sepoy from Signals removed a commode from a toilet in a running train and escaped. He was the only one to do so successfully. This fact was confirmed by many occupants of that train. Because of this novel act, his identification was very important to us. The commanding officer of that Sepoy had written a book titled, ‘Rudad e Qafas’ (Prison Diary) in Urdu. The book was not available in any library or bookstore, and even the printer had ceased to exist. We approached the son of this deceased officer, who was in his forties, for help. He, too, did not have a printed copy. We requested him to search through the leftover belongings of his late father, stored in the village in a box. Ultimately, he found the handwritten manuscript of the book, which was given to us for consultation for a few days. There, we found the correct name of that brave and innovative soldier. As for his fate, no clues were available. It was likely that he was caught and may have been shot by the captors.
Overall, the stories reflect positively on the courageous and innovative conduct of Pakistani military officers, who were not deterred by draconian punishments. In some cases, soldiers displayed bravery and innovation, reflecting their resilience. One can surmise that Pakistanis as a nation have boldness, courage, and sacrifice built into their character. The camaraderie displayed amongst the officers was remarkable and noteworthy. Compassion towards fellow officers, the sick and injured, and especially civilian internees was also remarkable.
As the detaining power, the Indians were obliged to follow international laws and conventions, which had been duly accepted by them as a country. However, they were selective in fulfilling their obligations. They followed the Geneva Conventions as they suited them. Escape attempts are a right given to the prisoners by the Conventions, but once exercised, they resulted in reactive draconian punishments. Even the camp authorities were punished for such lapses.
Similarly, according to the Conventions, upon cessation of hostilities, the injured and civilians were to be sent to their country of origin. This was not done for two long years, causing misery, especially to the civilian inmates and their families. Many killings, torture, and humiliation of inmates could have been avoided by a more scrupulous adherence to the Conventions and a more humane approach towards civilian internees.
The stories have brought out that about seventy officers and other ranks displayed exceptional courage in adversity and worked very hard to escape from captivity. This caused them a lot of hardship and resulted in severe punishments. Out of the thirteen military officers who reached Pakistan, as per our knowledge, only three were recognized with the award of Sitara-e-Jurat (SJ) (one) and Tamgha-e-Jurat (two). In my opinion, acknowledging such contributions of the remaining individuals could potentially boost the morale of successors, motivating them towards higher acts of gallantry and sacrifice.