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'File 12/10 Post Office - Muscat & Gwadur' [‎184r] (369/424)

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The record is made up of 1 file (208 folios). It was created in 18 Jan 1945-29 Nov 1948. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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(W 4066/956/801)
confidential
FOREIGN OFFICE, S.W.l
26th August 1948
/
Dear Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India.
Please refer to your letter of the 22nd April to
Stewart, about the post and telegraph services in Gwadur.
2. In a letter dated the 23rd June, the Government of
Pakistan express the hope that His Majesty’s Government will
agree to their continued operation of the post and telegraph
services in Gwadur. They point out that the place is entirely
surrounded by Pakistan territory, with which it has many
commercial ties, and includes a number of Pakistani inhabitants.
(A copy of their letter is enclosed).
3. We recognise the force of your objections to the
continued operation of Pakistan of these services, and we doubt
whether the Sultan of Muscat would wish the Pakistan postal
administration to gain a permanent foothold in Gwadur.
Cable and Wireless (as you will see from the enclosed oopy of
their letter to Harrison of the Commonwealth Relations Office)
are willing to take over the services if wb still wish them to
do so; the decision is therefore entirely a political one.
+
4. Since we previously requested the Government of
Pakistan to undertake these services, we shall find it difficult
to give cogent reasons why they should now relinquish them to
Cable and Wireless. We should be grateful for your observations,
and for any suggestions regarding the arguments we might use
with the Government of Pakistan to justify our change'of policy.
5. Since the Government of Pakistan are now pressing us
for a decision, we should be grateful for a reply by telegram.
Yours ever
general department.
$ , H 8 ( f>Gvc, tT)
The Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India.
Bahrain.
’LB’

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Content

The file concerns postal services at Muscat and Gwadar. The arrangements for postal services in the territories of Muscat and Oman were complicated from 1947 by the independence of India, and the transfer of responsibility for postal services from the Government of India to the Political Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and by the question of whether newly-independent Pakistan should be asked to provide post and telegraph services at Gwadur [Gwadar].

The papers include: staffing matters at Muscat, 1945; British Government plans for the future administration of postal services in the Gulf, 1947 (including minutes of a meeting at the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. , 11 July 1947, folios 41-42); the attitude of the Sultan of Muscat and Oman [Sa‘īd bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd] to the proposed continuation of existing postal arrangements at Gwadar by the Government of Pakistan; correspondence concerning the temporary use of stamps overprinted 'Pakistan' at Muscat, Dubai, and Gwadar, following agreement with India to withdraw unsurcharged Indian stamps from areas served by the Pakistan Posts and Telegraphs Department, and the introduction of new British stamps to replace existing Indian stamps, 1947; recommendations of the British Post Office representative (W Appleby) concerning the takeover of postal services in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. on 1 April 1948 (folios 120-130); details of Post Office staff at Gwadar, 1947; and the Foreign Office's initial decision to ask the Government of Pakistan to take over responsibility for postal services at Gwadar (folio 154), and ensuing difficulties following the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. 's recommendation that responsibility for services at Gwadar be handed over instead to Cable and Wireless Limited, 1947-48.

The file includes correspondence from the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Muscat; the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; the British Agent, Gwadar; the Commonwealth Relations Office; and the Government of Pakistan.

Extent and format
1 file (208 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file. Circled serial numbers in red and blue crayon (red for incoming, blue for outgoing correspondence) refer to entries in the notes on folios 195-209.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 210; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-98; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'File 12/10 Post Office - Muscat & Gwadur' [‎184r] (369/424), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/6/413, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100060323898.0x0000aa> [accessed 19 April 2024]

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