What is "al-shams"

The Al-Shams was a paramilitary wing of several Islamist parties in East Pakistan composed of local Bengalis and Biharis that along with the Pakistan Army and the Al-Badr, is accused of conducting a mass killing campaign against Bengali nationalists, civilians, religious and ethnic minorities during 1971. The group was banned by the independent government of Bangladesh, but most of its members had fled the country during and after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, which led to Bangladesh's independence.

Al-Shams is the Arabic word for "the sun" and may refer to:

• Ash-Shams, the 91st Sura of the Quran
• Shamash, the Semitic Sun god
• Ain Shams University, a university located in Cairo, Egypt
• Majdal Shams, a Druze town in the Golan Heights (Migdal Shemesh in Hebrew)
• Al-Shams (newspaper), a Libyan newspaper in Arabic
• Al-Shams (East Pakistan), a paramilitary wing of several parties in East Pakistan abolished in 1971
• Shams Abu Dhabi, a real estate development on Al Reem Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Al-Shams (meaning the Sun in English) is an Arabic language daily newspaper published in Libya.