KARACHI: Prime minister-in-waiting and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan tweeted a historic picture on Tuesday featuring the founding fathers of Pakistan, as well as some of his relatives, at the 1932 Round Table conference in London.

The picture, in a sepia tone, features a number of Indian luminaries seated at an elongated dinner table surrounded by exquisite decor. However, what makes it more than just a sentimental throwback to another era is the presence of two giants of the Pakistan Movement: Allama Mohammad Iqbal and Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, at the table.

However, Khan Sahib’s elders are also present at the scene. As the PTI chief tweeted: “...My khalu [maternal aunt’s husband] Dr Jehangir Khan and my mother’s chacha [paternal uncle] Zaman Khan (Zaman Park named after him) were also present. ...”

When asked about the importance of the picture and the Round Table conferences, Dr Syed Jafar Ahmed, the former head of the University of Karachi’s Pakistan Study Centre, told Dawn that though he had not seen the picture, the conferences were key moments in the history of the subcontinent, and the making of Pakistan.

“After the failure of the Simon Commission, the British government invited Indian leaders to London”, which was how the three Round Table conferences came about, said Dr Ahmed. The three conferences were held between 1930 and 1932, and the picture Imran Khan has tweeted appears to be from the third conference.

Dr Ahmed added that after the failure of the conferences, the Quaid stayed back in London until he was later convinced to move back to India. “The discussions [regarding the future of India] were very detailed”, he added, though the deliberations ended in apparent failure.

The conferences, more so their failure, would lead to the Communal Award, which was incorporated into the Government of India Act, 1935.

By tweeting the picture, perhaps Mr Kahn meant to send a subtle message that ‘Naya’ Pakistan has historic ties to the country imagined by its founding fathers.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2018