in 1971, in an attempt to avert a possible showdown between the military and the people of east pakistan, on march 23, 1971, khan, along with other pakistani politicians, jointly met sheikh mujibur rahman. they offered support to mujeeb in the formation of a government, but it was already too late to break the impasse as yahya khan had already decided on a full scale military crackdown. pakistan's increasing vulnerability and widespread international outrage against the military crackdown eventually created a situation that led to war between pakistan and india. this war proved disastrous and culminated in pakistan's armed forces being defeated in east pakistan and the creation of the new state of bangladesh. shocked by the defeat, yahya khan resigned from office and the military. under general gul hassan khan, zulfikar ali bhutto was brought back from america and appointed president.