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August 14

Sibi: February 15, 1948

The Governor-General of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, said in reply to a question at a Press Conference at Sibi on February 15, 1948, that he was not in favour of dictatorship.

The question was: "Why is Baluchistan being made into Governor-General's province under reforms announced by you at the Durbar yesterday and are you in favour of dictatorship?"

The Governor-General's answer was: I believe it will be better off that way. Things would be done far more quickly than in the usual process of full-fledged parliamentary discussions. But it does not mean that I am in favour of dictatorship.

I take this as flattering to myself that my heart, my soul and my pulse ensure that I shall be very useful to Baluchistan in its present condition. There are two reasons for this proposed reform: (one) I want to help Baluchistan in every way I can; and (two) things will be done far more quickly.

The Governor-General stated that the other provinces in Pakistan had gone through all the preliminary stages of Parliamentary Governments. For Baluchistan, there was no other way in the present circumstances but to throw the whole burden on the Governor-General.

Asked regarding the constitution and scope of the proposed Advisory Council for Baluchistan, the Quaid-i-Azam said: The Council will be nominated by the Governor-General, but he will not make it a nominal body. He will see that he makes it a really representative body.

Minority Representation

Replying to a question if the minorities would get representation on the Council, the Quaid-i-Azam said that he had made it clear in his address yesterday that every interest would be represented on the Council.

He parried the suggestion that the masses had no voice in the Province and would go unrepresented by saying that they had their voice but they were not sufficiently organized and were still in the elementary stage.

Kalat's Accession

Questioned as to what had transpired between him and the Khan of Kalat during their discussion in Sibi on the issue of the accession of Kalat State, the Governor-General declined to state the talks but he explained that the Khan of Kalat was to meet him in the evening on February 14, but owing to sudden indisposition, we was unable to do so.

The Quaid-i-Azam then read out a letter which he had received from the Khan of Kalat late last evening. The letter stated: "I have summoned both the houses of Dar-ul-Awam and Dar-ul-Umra to give me their final opinion on their future relations with the Dominion of Pakistan by the 21st or 22nd of this month and I shall be able to inform you, Quaid-i-Azam, of their considered opinion by the end of the month."

After reading the letter, the Quaid-i-Azam told the pressmen, Under these circumstances, I shall wait for his final reply and I hope that he will send it to me definitely before the end of this month.

Kashmir Issue

Asked to express his views on the Kashmir issue, the Quaid-i-Azam said: I cannot say anything on the Kashmir issue as UNO is dealing with the issue and anything in the circumstances might aggravate the situation. He said that as far as he could gather from the newspapers, the Pakistan delegation to the UNO was not returning. Asked if Karachi was being made into a separate federal province, the Quaid-i-Azam said: It is decided that Karachi is going to be the capital of Pakistan and a committee has been appointed to consider other issues pertaining to Karachi.