ON Feb 26, 1948, the 2nd Battalion Black Watch paraded through Karachi, embarked the troopship Empire Halladale and left Pakistan for good. The battalion was based at Malir. Their commanding officer then was Lt-Col Neville Blair.

It was only a couple of years before this departure, in February 1946, that the Black Watch was deployed to suppress the Royal Indian Navy Revolt in Karachi.

The battalion was led by its pipers in full ceremonial dress. A convoy of trucks took the troops from Malir to the assembly point in a local school. From there they marched through the Empress Market and Elphinstone Street up to the Governor House. They paraded for a royal salute to Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah before proceeding to the docks to board the troopship.

The kings’ colours and regimental colours were furled as the battalion marched up the gangway to reach the Empire Halladale. They were the last British Army colours to leave Pakistan.

The ceremony marked the end of the Black Watch’s long association with India’s defence. Governor-General Jinnah told the farewell parade: “Though you are leaving, we will always have the best goodwill for your nation.”

Dr Sohail Ansari
Essex, United Kingdom

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2022