A. A. K. Niazi in the context of "Hilal-i-Jurat"

Surrender, in military terms, is the relinquishment of control over territory, combatants, fortifications, ships or armament to another power. A surrender may be accomplished peacefully or it may be the result of defeat in battle. A sovereign state may surrender following defeat in a war, usually by signing a peace treaty or capitulation agreement. A battlefield surrender, either by individuals or when ordered by officers, normally results in those surrendering becoming prisoners of war.

The Pakistani Instrument of Surrender (Bengali: পাকিস্তানের আত্মসমর্পণের দলিল, romanized: Pākistānēr Ātmôsômôrpôṇēr Dôlil) was a legal document signed between India (alongside the Provisional Government of Bangladesh) and Pakistan to end the Bangladesh Liberation War and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Per the trilateral agreement, the Pakistani government surrendered the Armed Forces Eastern Command, thereby enabling the establishment of the People's Republic of Bangladesh over the territory of East Pakistan. The document was signed by India's Lt. Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora and Pakistan's A. A. K. Niazi, and led to the surrender of 93,000 Pakistanis — the world's largest surrender in terms of number of personnel since World War II. Despite the agreement, Pakistan did not formally recognize Bangladeshi sovereignty until February 1974.

The ratification of the agreement by all sides also marked the end of the Bangladesh genocide, perpetrated by Pakistan during the conflict. Bangladesh and the Indian Armed Forces celebrate Pakistan's 1971 defeat and surrender on an annual basis, observing 16 December as Victory Day.