Islamabad: Lt Gen Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, the top Pakistan Army commander who surrendered to the Indian Army along with 90,000 of his troops after the fall of Dhaka in 1971, died of a heart attack in Lahore.

The 89-year-old diabetic fell ill after breakfast and was taken to the hospital where he breathed his last yesterday (Feb 1, 2004), family sources said.

Born in 1915 in Mianwali (Punjab), Niazi was commissioned in the united Indian Army in 1942 and later opted to join the Pakistan Army in 1947. He was one of Pakistan's most decorated Army officers.

Niazi was the commander of Pakistan troops who were overwhelmed by Bangladesh's Mukthi Bahini and the Indian Army in 1971. He surrendered to Indian Commander Gen J S Arora along with his troops.

Niazi's surrender was considered a national humiliation as it resulted in the division of Pakistan and the birth of Bangladesh.

He returned home from captivity in 1974 and was held in detention by the Army for about a year. After his release, Niazi became a strongest critic of the policies of the Pakistan Army and made an unsuccessful bid to enter politics.

After his retirement from public life, he published a book "Betrayal of East Pakistan" in 1998 in which he outlined his version of events that lead to the division of Pakistan.

Niazi is survived by two sons and three daughters.