KARACHI: Speaking in a clear resonant voice in Karachi on Wednesday evening [Feb 8], His Highness the Aga Khan hoped and prayed that it may be the destiny of Pakistan to bring about the spiritual and intellectual unity of the Muslim World. He, however, did not think a political Confed­eration of Muslim States was possible at present. The Aga Khan was addressing a … gathering on “The History of Islamic States — their rise and fall, and their Future Prospects” … in chilly weather. … “Pakis­t­an’s manpower,” he declared, ‘her resources, her geographical position, the fundamental unity of her population in sentimental aspirations give her all the advantages which the Muslim World lost some 200 years ago.”

[Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies from Lake Success,] Chaudhri Mohammad Zafrullah Khan, Pakistan Foreign Minister, speaking before the Security Council said if the decision in Junagadh by a plebiscite under the joint supervision of Junagadh and the Government of India were just and honest, why could not Pakistan with equal honesty maintain that the wishes of the people of Kashmir should be held under the joint control of Pakistan and Kashmir.

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2025