PESHAWAR: Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was arrested today [June 15] at Bahadur Khel in Kohat District while proceeding to Bannu on a propaganda tour. … A communique issued by the Frontier Government says: “After watching his activities for more than nine months the Provincial Government today ordered the arrest of Abdul Ghaffar Khan, former Indian Congress leader in the NWFP. When orders for his arrest were issued Abdul Ghaffar Khan was in Kohat District on his way to Bannu where, according to reliable information, he was going for collaboration with the agents of Faqir of Ipi with a view [to] stirring up trouble on the border… .”

[Meanwhile, as reported from Quetta,] “It naturally pains me to find the curse of provincialism holding sway over any section of Pakistan. Pakistan must be rid of this evil,” said Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, replying to a civic address presented by the Quetta Municipality today [June 15]. … “I am especially interested in Baluchistan… . I want to see it play a full part in the affairs of Pakistan as any other province, but it will take time to remove the symptoms of long neglect.”

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2023