By Hamza Ameer
Rawalpindi, Mar 9 (IANS): Nawaz of Junagadh, Nawab Jahangir Khan Jee and Dewan of Junagadh Shahibzada Ahmed Ali, have reiterated and reminded India that Junagadh was and would continue to be part of Pakistan, raising questions over the independence of Junagadh state.
"The independence of Junagadh state was predestined for India," said Nawaz Jahangir Khan.
"Time was not far when the Pakistani flag would flutter over the princely state," he added.
Jahangir Khan termed the slogan of United India as the "biggest fraud", stating that India was fated to see the independence of Junagadh state.
"Despite its agreement for accession to Pakistan in 1947, the Muslim-ruled Junagarh state has remained under illegal Indian occupation for the last 74 years," he said.
"The geographic importance of Junagarh and access to the Arabian Sea gave it unique importance for a regional trade route," he added.
Talking about the history of the state, Khan stated that "Junagarh had the unique dispensation of being the second largest among the Muslim states and a rich one, ranked fifth in terms of revenue generation among the 561 British India princely states."
"It was one of the major princely states of British India with an area of around 4,000 square miles and its own standing army besides a proper system of governance," he said.
This is not the first time that Nawaz Muhammad Jahangir Khan Jee has called for what he called the liberation of Junagarh state from India. In September 2021, Khan appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan to become an ambassador for Junagarh as he did in the case of Kashmir and highlight the issue of liberation of the state from what he called "Indian occupation", at international forums.
"India and Pakistan should discuss the issue and settle it peacefully through dialogue," he said.
Khan jee also thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan for including Junagarh in the political map of Pakistan, putting forward another appeal of making Junagarh issue part of the education curriculum both at federal and provincial levels.