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'File 12/10 Post Office - Muscat & Gwadur' [‎185r] (371/424)

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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. .

Transcription

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The High Commissioner for Pakistan presents his compliments
to the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations, and has the
honour to refer to his express letter Ext.807/4P dated March 30th,
1948. In paragraph three of the letter, enquiries were made as to
whether the Government of Pakistan would be agreeable to Messrs.
Cable and Wireless Limited, establishing a small Wireless station
at Gwadur, and taking over from the Pakistan Government the Posts
and Telegraphs business there.
tEhe Government of Pakistan have given their careful consider
ation to the question, and have stated as follows:
\
"A year ago, prior to Partition, it was agreed that the
United Kingdom Government should take over the administration
of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , including the running of the Posts
and +Telegraphs, and with the concurrence of the Government
of India that the Pakistan Government should continue to
administer the Posts and Telegraphs until the United Kingdom
Government Were in a position to take them over. The Govern
ment of Pakistan agreed to this arrangement for reasons of
territorial affinitv and other allied considerations.
v c.n*
"The United Kingdom Government subsequently proposed, in
SECRO Express Letter No.Ext.2215/47 dated October 16th
1947, that the administration of the Posts and Telegraphs
services in Gwadur should remain in the hands of the
Government of Pakistan. We are ourselves disposed to
agree with that proposal in view of the administrative
considerations involved, and we feel that as Gwadur is on
its land frontiers, entirely surrounded by what is now
Pakistan, with which it has close trade and commercial
connexions, and contains tmong its inhabitants a large number
of Pakistanis, any step that would loosen the links between
Gwadur and the adjoining Pakistan territory, such as the
handing over to Messrs. Cable and Wireless Limited of the
Posts and Telegraphs system in Gwadur, which the Postal
authorities in what is now Pakistan have run successfully
for so long, would be regrettable. We are actuated also by
considerations of security
H The Government of Pakistan would accordingly be glad, if,
for these reasons, the Government of the United Kingdom
would agree to their continuing to run the Post and Telegraph
services in Gwadur. In view of the circumstances pointed
out in the Secretary of State’s letter of October 16th, 19474
quoted, and particularly the opening portiorv6f paragraph
three, the Government of Pakistan trust that the Government
Of the United Kingdom would agree”.
London, 23rd June,
1948.
'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.

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English in Latin script
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'File 12/10 Post Office - Muscat & Gwadur' [‎185r] (371/424), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/6/413, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100060323898.0x0000ac> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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