KARACHI, Feb 24: The Sindh Archives has received the first consignment of copies of eighteen out of seventy volumes of Syed Shamsul Hasan’s historic collection from the National Documentation Centre (NDC) Islamabad. This was said by Director Sindh Archives Iqbal Nafees Khan on Saturday.

The handing over of the historic material was the result of an arrangement made between Sindh Archives and the NDC on exchange of archival material.

According to Mr Khan, this collection is an invaluable academic asset and its value as a historical source material can not be measured. “No meaningful research on the formative phase of Pakistan movement and the history of All India Muslim League is possible without consulting this vital source material,” he said.

The 72 volumes comprise the original Muslim League papers mostly from 1940 to 1947. Some pre-1940 material dealing with Quaid-i-Azam and the All India Muslim League. In addition there is also material relating to Syed Shamsul Hasan himself is also included in this collection.

Syed Shamsul Hasan, assistant secretary of All India Muslim League, collected this record with selfless devotion over decades. After Independence, he migrated to Karachi and on the instructions of Quaid he travelled back to Delhi to fetch this record.

He was arrested in Delhi on a false murder charge but later released on the intervention of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru. Thereafter he was allowed to carry these papers to Pakistan.

Zahid Shamsul Hasan, the younger son of Syed Shamsul Hasan, donated the whole collection to the NDC, Cabinet Division Islamabad and refused to accept the handsome sum of money offered to him as compensation.