Centenary of the Discovery of Leprosy Bacillus (December 29, 1973)

Format of the stamp is horizontal. The portrait of Dr. Hansen in flesh colours appears on the right hand side. A microscope of the same age is shown on the left side in black colour and a circular microscopic view of the Leprosy Bacillus is yellow and brown colour is shown in between the portrait and the microscope. One hundred years ago the Norwegian Scientist, Gerhard Hansen, discovered the bacillary cause of leprosy which for centuries had weighed on its unfortunate victims and they were treated as complete outcasts. Leprosy, now known to be caused by a microbe is treated like one of the many other infectious diseases. However, the problem of finding a specific remedy posed a challenge for 70 years before an effective cure became available.
Although it may appear surprising to many yet it is a fact that leprosy is now a curable disease, and its dreaded complica-tions can be prevented provided that treat-ment is begun early. There are, however, two major difficulties; first, leprosy con-tinues to evoke an irrational fear; and second, recent statistics reveal that the number of leprosy sufferers in the world reached 11 millions.
Leprosy is dreaded not because it kills like malaria or tuberculosis or because it is highly contagious like small pox, or because it attacks whole populations like schistosomiasis, or because it is responsible for epidemics like cholera or measles or for pandemics like influenza. Leprosy is dread-ed because it cripples. It vies with polio-myelitis as the world’s greatest crippler. If crippling included impairment of sensa-tion, then about a quarter of those suffer-ing from leprosy are crippled. Leprosy is thus the cause of grave economic loss in many developing countries; instead of pro-ducing, or contributing to the community, the crippled victim of leprosy makes de-mands on his healthy fellows for food, shel-ter and medical care. All this is quite apart from the human tragedies that result from a disease that has serious social consequ-ences for the patient and his family.
There is always more leprosy in. a country than early guesses indicate, sometimes much more. There are several rea-sons for this; despite the fact that a good drug has been available for over twenty years and that during this time many have been cured of leprosy but in very few countries leprosy control schemes have been successfully organised. In countries that have a big leprosy problem, medical facilities in general are inadequate (especially for people living away from the large towns), the population is increasing (that is, there are more people to catch leprosy), and clothed leprosy patients in the growing towns not only conceal the signs of leprosy more easily, but often they are not sur-rounded by good neighbours from their own tribal group.
The disease which is unfortunately prevalent in countries that are economi-cally poor and technically under-equipped presents an extremely serious problem. Des-pite the tremendous efforts of the health services of the countries affected, helped by international organisations and by volun-tary agencies only a quarter of those afflict-ed by leprosy receive adequate treatment which means that more than 8 million are still denied the benefits of modern treat-ment. It is realised that in some areas 10-45% of the patients have the contagious form of leprosy (called lepromatous) and that children and young people in contact with these patients are in danger of con-tracting the disease. For the diagnosis of pastor present leprosy infection no skin test (like the Heaf or Mantoux test for tuberculosis) is known, nor is there a specific serological test. Sample surveys of typical populations indicate approximate prevalence rates. When treatment is provid-ed, and later is seen to be effective, and when facilities for re-constructive surgery and social rehabilitation are made avail-able, more people suffering from active leprosy and from the results of past leprosy come forward for treatment.
Pakistan too has not been spared this scourge but the Government became aware of this problem and took counter measures against the alarming spread of disease in certain parts of N.W.F.P., Azad Kashmir and Baluchistan. Leprosy control schemes have been initiated in these areas with the help of private organisations and leprosy treatment centres have been established in the leprosy affected areas and in Punjab and Karachi as well. About 13000 patients are under treatment in the 36 centres functioning in the country.
From the rocky mountains of Gilgit to the sandy sea shore of Makran; in the scattered hamlets of far-flung rural areas and the congested slum-quarters of the large industrial cities; by foot, on camel, on motor-cycle or by jeep, the leprosy survey and treatment teams have reached nearly every corner of the country where this disease is found. However, much remains to be done to screen exposed popula-tion groups, impart the basic knowledge of the disease on literate and illiterate alike to gain the cooperation of medical profes-sion and population at large, and bring regular treatment, into easy reach of each patient. The first spade work however has been done; the infrastructure established; and the way has been opened up to success-fully tackle the problem to control this disease in our generation; and hopefully to eradicate it in the next, so that our child-ren may be spared the fate which spoiled the life of so many of their parents.
On the occasion of centenary celebra-tions of Dr. Hansen’s discovery it is hoped that on a world-wide scale, the interests of governments and the public should be aroused so that the unfortunate sufferers who are still unable to avail themselves of the remedies that science has placed in our hands, may be provided necessary help. Efforts are also being made to develop a potent drug that may be rapidly effective. For evolving an effective procedure for protecting the children and young people exposed to the risk of contracting leprosy medical experts are busy day and night.

Millenary of Abu Raihan Muhammad Ibn-Ahmad Al-Biruni (November 26, 1973)

Format of the stamps is ho-rizontal. The portrait of al-Biruni appears on the left side against the picturesque background of Nandana Hill—the site, of the observatory of al-Biruni—in District Jhelum of the Punjab.
Abu Raihan Muhammad Ibn Ahmad al-Biruni is probably the most prominent of those Muslim scientists, who charac-terize the Golden Age of Islamic science. He was a versatile genius, who was equally at home in mathematics, astronomy, physics and medicine and has left works of high scientific value in all these branches of study. Al-Biruni, along with Abu Ali Ibn Sina, marks the culmination of that in-tellectual development, which had been taking place in Central Asia ever since Muslim Ibn Qutaiba conquered it and annexed it to the Umayyad Empire.
Al-Biruni was born in Dhul-Hijjah 362 A.H. (September, 973) in a suburb of al-Khwarizm or modern Khiwa. Here he enjoyed the patronage of an old local family, known as A’L-i-Iraq, and he re-members with feelings of gratitude the favours be had received from this family. After the fall of the house of A’L-i-Iraq, Al-Biruni had to leave his country, and went to the city of Ray, where he found a patron in the person of Shams-ul-ma’ali the ruler of Jurjan and Tabaristan but al-Biruni could not feel at home at his court and returned to Khwarizm, where be lived upto 1016 AD Here he came into contact with other scholars, the most notable of them being Ibn-Sina. Al-Biruni corresponded with him on some scientific questions, and the answers of the latter are still preserved in the British museum.
In 1016, when Sultan Mahmud conquered Khwarizm, al-Biruni was attached to his court at Ghazna, where he lived upto the time of his death in 1048 AD Most of the historical and philosophical works of al-Biruni are, unfortunately, lost; but his fame as a scientist securely rests on three masterly compilations (i) Athar al-Baqiya anil-Qur’un al- Khaliya (The Surviving Monuments of Past Generations). It is a study in comparative chronology, embracing not only a description of the eras and festivals of various nations and religions but a good deal of historical information and curious observa-tions on many subjects.
(ii) Kitab-ul-Hind: The attachment of al-Biruni to the court of Ghazna opened a new chapter in the literary career of al Biruni. The epoch making military expeditions of Sultan Mahmud had opened up Hindu India for the Muslims and al-Biruni took advantage of Mahmud’s conquests to learn Sanskrit and study Indian literature. After thirteen years of labour, he produced a work on India which in subject and scientific method stands unique in Arabic literature. In his account of the religious and social ideas of the Indians and of their manners and customs, al-Biruni is singularly free from religious and national prejudices and holds an even balance between uncritical admiration and unthinking aversion.
Besides this, Al-Biruni translated into Arabic many Indian books, including the Goga Sutra and Patanjali, a copy of which has survived in Arabic.
(iii) AL-QANOON AL-MASOODI: After the death of Sultan Mahmud in 998 A,D., al-Biruni continued his scientific work under the patronage of his son Sultan Masud. He summarized the entire astro-nomical science of the Arabs in a comprehensive work and dedicated it to his patron by giving it the title of al-Qanoon al- Masoodi, i.e. “The Canon dedicated to Sultan Masud”. It was supplemented by a short compendium on astrology. Al- Biruni calculated the circumference of the earth and arrived at a figure which is appro-ximately the same as that of modern investigators. These observations were carried out by him near a hillock known as Nandana in the tehsil of Pind Dadan Khan in Jhelum District in the Punjab. The method employed and the theory on which it was based have been described by him in detail in his “Cannon Masoodicus”.
(iv) About the same time, al-Biruni also composed a short treatise on geo-metry, arithmetic, astronomy and astro-logy in the form of a catechism. It bears the title of al-Tafhim Ii Awail Sinaat Al-Tanjim. (v) Another useful and interesting work, which al-Biruni wrote is his Kitabus--Saidala which deals with medicinal herbs and drugs, and was translated into Persian by Abu Bakr bin Ali bin Othman al-Kasani in India. A copy of the Persian version is preserved at the British Museum, and has been described by H. Beveridge in the journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, London, 1902. During the reign of Sultan Maudud the Ghaznavid, al-Biruni wrote a treatise on mineralogy. It is entitled ‘Kitab al-Jawaher fi ma’arifat al-Jawahir’, and has been edited by F. Krenhow and published at Hyderabad, Deccan in 1936.
The total number of works, which al-Biruni wrote, comes to about 180. Some of them are short treatises on special subjects, while others are major works embracing vast fields of knowledge. Most of his works are lost; but the few that are still extant and have been published, are enough to show that al-Biruni had an original mind and a critical spirit, which entitle him to a very high position among the Muslim scientists. Although three major works of al--Biruni have been edited, and several aspects of his scientific thought have been studied by a number of competent scholars, still much remains to be done in this field. He deserves to be remembered with feelings of admiration for his scientific attainments and for his substantial contributions to human knowledge. What makes the work of aI-Biruni all the more valuable is the fact that it was carried out in a strictly scientific spirit, and that it was not vitiated by any religious or national prejudices. In this way, aI-Biruni proved to be a model investigator for the latter generations.

25th Anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (November 16, 1973)

Format of the stamp is vertical. Basic necessities of human life are symbolically represented in the design beside the emblem of human rights.
By resolution 2860 (XXVI) of 20 De-cember, 1971, the General Assembly, noting that Human Rights Day in 1973 will mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the adoption and proclamation of the Universal Declara-tion of Human Rights, expressed its con-viction of the historic significance and enduring value of the Declaration as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations. Recalling that the United Nations had provided for special observances of the tenth, fifteenth and twentieth anniversaries of the Declaration, the General Assembly expressed the desire to mark, in 1973, the twenty-fifth anniver-sary in a manner which would fit the occa-sion and serve the cause of human rights.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was conceived by its authors and approved by the General Assembly as ‘‘a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations”. Since its adop-tion, a number of international instruments including the Covenants and declarations on specific questions as well as important resolutions have specified the scope to be given to the standards proclaimed in the Universal Declaration and given them legal and practical precision.
The twenty-fifth anniversary of the adop-tion of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will be celebrated with particular effectiveness and the cause of human rights well served if the anniversary could be accompanied by a marked extension in the teaching of the international system of protection of human rights not only at the university level, but also at the interme-diary and specialized levels of education. In some cases, courses could be expanded, in others, separate courses might be institu-ted, devoted to the international system of promotion and protection of human rights, and could deal also with the teaching of national systems of protection of human rights. All endeavours at international approaches to education, such as interna-tional universities, staff colleges, regional colleges, should leave sufficient time for comprehensive imparting of knowledge and discussion of the work accomplished by the United Nations during the last quarter of the century in the field of human rights.
The purposes of the International Con-ference on Human Rights held in 1968 on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration were three fold: (1) to review the progress which had been made in the field of human rights since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, (ii) to eva-luate the effectiveness of the methods used by the United Nations in the field of human rights, especially with regard to the elimi-nation of all forms of racial discrimination and the practice of the policy of apartheid; and (iii) to formulate and prepare a prog-ramme of further measures to be taken subsequent to the celebrations of the Inter-national Year for Human Rights. The discussions relating to objective
(iii) have been particularly helpful for United Nations work and several of the major activities of the United Nations in the field of human rights have originated or have received new impetus in the resolution adopted by the International Conference of 1968 and the Proclamation of Tehran. It may not be desirable or possible to hold another International Conference of Human Rights in 1973. However, it would un-doubtedly be useful if gatherings could be initiated by the United Nations or held under United Nations suspicious at which, after adequate consideration of human rights problems of our time in the light of past and anticipated developments, further areas of action and fresh priorities for United Nations action might be given to the organization of seminars in various regions or sub-regions where problems des-cribed above would be discussed by emin-ent personalities with special experience and qualifications in the field of human rights.

Fish Definitives (September 24, 1973)

Pakistan Post Office, at last issued a set of postage stamps depicting wildlife. The issue was not commemorating “wildlife” but to familiarize the people about the sea resources of the country. A series is however, planned to highlight the danger of some species of flora and fauna vanishing rapidly from the country.
The set of four stamps issued on September 24, 1973, projects FISHES, more commonly found in Pakistan.. Face values names of the fishes and the background colours of the stamps are as the following:
10p. Wallago Attu, (turquoise green).
20p. Labeo Rohita, (light olive).
60p. Tilapia Mossambica, (mauve).
Re. l, Catla Catla, (bluish violet).
Name of the country in two languages is printed in reverse at top, other inscriptions are in black, denomination is inscribed in two lines with ‘paisa’ above the denominator, at bottom left corner. Rupee value denomination is in one line. Names of the fish are given at bottom except on l0p, which is sideways.

Pakistan Scouts Silver Jubilee Jamboree (November 11, 1973)

The form at of the stamp is vertical. A boy scout wearing a khaki uniform, green scarf and a green cap is shown on the loft side of the stamp facing a rising sun on the right side with his right hand pointing to the planet Mars appearing in the right hand corner against a blue sky studded with a few yellowish stars. The Pakistan Boy Scouts Association is celebrating its Silver Jubilee Jamboree on completion of 25 eventful years of its life after Independence.
Lest an impression be created that Scouting was introduced in this area only in 1947, we have to go back to 1910 when it was started in the Punjab Province, three years after the introduction of Scouting in England. The Provincial Headquarter was established near Walton, in the suburbs of Lahore. The summer training camp was also established at Ghora Gali in the Murree Hills.
The Moisson (France) World Scout Jamboree of 1947 was the first world jamboree in which the Boy Scouts of Pakistan participated. In fact a selected contingent of Boy Scouts of the Indian Sub-Continent had left for France long before the creation of Pakistan on 14.8.1947. On the 12th August, 1947, this contingent agreed to hoist the separate flags of Pakistan and India on the 14th and 13th August, 1947 at the Jamboree. The Muslim Scouts improvised the Pakistan Flag for the occasion. A bit of their dark green turban and a piece of white cloth taken from their shirt sufficed for this extemporized National Flag. The Pakistan Boy Scouts were thus introduced at this great Jamboree simultaneously with the creation of Pakistan. Mr. J. D. Shuja, a well-known Scouter, whose Open Troop at Moghalpura (Lahore) was noted for its discipline and efficiency, worked for the formation of the Pakistan Boy Scouts Association. On 22 December, 1947 Quaid-i-Azam himself took the Scout Promise before an assembly of the Scouts and Scouters, and his address on this historic occasion has continued to serve as a beacon light for the scouts movement.
The Pakistan Boy Scouts Association got its Affiliation Certificate from the Boy Scouts World Bureau in April, 1948.
There were altogether about 50,000 Scouts in Pakistan in 1948. Today the number exceeds 150,000. The quality of Scouting has also been steadily increasing. All this has been possible with the constant supply of trained Scouters. To begin with, there were three Provincial Training Centres in the Punjab, namely Walton, Ghora Gali and Takiya (Abbottabad). Later on, a Training Centre was established at Quetta. The Training Camps were held at Ziarat, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Multan, Rawalpindi, Karachi etc. Sea and Air Scouting has been started in Karachi. The Air Scouts have a fine Headquarters of their own. Both Sea and Air Scouting will provide an added attraction to the older boys in a Scout Troop. Scouting for the physically handicap-ped boys is a very beneficial extension of the activities of the Pakistan Boy Scouts Association. These boys feel isolated and their lives are generally dull and dreary. Scouting provides them with fun and fellowship. More than 500 handicapped boys are now regular Scouts. Their hearts are filled with joy when they camp Out with other Scouts.
A clan for the blind Scouts under a blind teacher, who is also their Scout Master, is being run by the Punjab Guild of Old Scouts. In the Punjab, the deaf children have been provided with hearing aids, through a generous donation of the Boy Scouts World Bureau to the Pakistan Boy Scouts Association. Some of the blind Scouts are now studying for the Master’s Degree and some have gone abroad for their studies. The first National Jamboree was held in 1952 at Karachi in which the partici-pants numbered 2000. Scouts from Ceylon, Philippines, etc. also participated. Its unique feature was the flying trips arranged free for the Campers.
The second National Jamboree was held at Chittagong in December, 1958, and was attended by 4000 Scouts. The third National Jamboree was held at Walton (Lahore) in 1960 with 6000 Campers. The fourth National Jamboree was held at Karachi in January 1967 and the fifth was held at Mochak, the new Training Centre of the East Pakistan Boy Scouts Association, in December, 1969.
“Jamboree-on-the-Air” is held in October every year. For this purpose, wireless sets have been installed at Amin House and Scout Centre, Lahore, with the Call signs, AP 2 NMK and AP 2 BS, respectively. The present one is the sixth National Jamboree being held at Islamabad from 11-11-1973 to 17-11-1973. The number of participants is expected to be 10,000. Some Scouts of Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey, Ceylon, etc., are also likely to participate in this jamboree.
The Pakistan Boy Scouts Association has participated in various World and Regional Scout Events—Scouts Confer-ences, Jamborees, Moots, Indabas, etc.
Pakistan Boy Scouts Association brings out two periodicals, namely, the “Pak-Scout”, which was started in September 1948, and “Almustaid”, which is published in Urdu.

50th Anniversary of the Republic of Turkey (October 29, 1973)

The stamp is horizontal in format. A view of the modern city of Ankara is shown on the left and the portrait of Mustafa Kemal Ata Turk on the right side.
For a nation, which stood at the verge of collapse and faced virtual annihilation, the moments of struggle and the final triumph are too dear to be forgotten by vicissitudes of time. The proud and happy Turkish nation of today is not likely ever to forget the glorious struggle for survival led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Ottoman Empire, having been defeated in World War I was forced to sign the ignominious Treaty of Sevres which aimed at the disin-tegration of the country and its occupa-tion by the enemies. Ataturk refused to acknowledge this shameful Treaty and im-mediately launched a national struggle for the country’s independence. He had to succeed if the name of Turkey was to remain on the map, for its enemies were deter-mined to wipe it out by apportioning to themselves what was left of the great Otto-man Empire. Struggling untiringly with great far sight and self-reliance Ataturk achieved his objective and, in 1923, Turkey signed the Treaty of Laussane on its own terms. The momentous victory of the Turks is the shining chapter of history all too familiar to friends and foes alike.
The indomitable courage and determi-nation of the Turkish nation had saved the homeland and it was very natural that the nation be the custodian of its own destiny. Moreover, the 20th century had brought a wind of change. And a free and dynamic people must keep pace with the fast moving current of time in order to live with freedom and honour. It was therefore a natural sequence to the events of recent history and culmination of the inexorable process of evolution that Turkey was declared a Republic on 29th October, 1923. Ataturk had said “Sovereignty belongs uncondi-tionally and without reservation to the Nation.” This epigram which had become a countrywide slogan during the national struggle, ultimately became a reality and, today, it is one of the fundamental articles of the Turkish Constitution.
Fifty years have passed since the birth of the Turkish Republic, and during this period of half a century the world has seen may crises including the great human calamity, the World War IL. Destinies of many a people have changed, and yet many others are struggling to find their rightful place in this world. Each passing year was no less than a raging storm, but like a young sapling bending with howling winds with its roots firmly in the ground, the young Republic withstood the caprices of time. Each year on 29 October, while cele-brating the anniversary of the Republic, the Turkish nation looks back with satis-faction over its achievements and feels hap-py at the ever growing strength of the Republic.
This year the Turks throughout the world will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Republic. Guided by the abid-ing principles of Ataturk the Turkish nation has covered a long distance since the founding of the Republic. If the Turks are proud of their achievements of the last fifty years, they are still more proud that they progressed under the rule of democracy. It is very important to note that in all the ups and downs of the past half century the nation faithfully adhered to the principles laid down by Ataturk. These principles or rather reforms of Ataturk in the economic, social, legal, educational and ideological fields gave an effective impetus to the country’s progress, and have always been the source of strength and the guiding factor in every aspect of Turkish national life.
In celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Republic, the Turkish nation is not only looking back proudly to all these fruitful years, but is also looking forward confidently to the future. The celebration of the 50th anniversary is a renewal of the nation’s pledge to defend at all costs the independence of the country and the Republic, and to achieve Ataturk’s ideal of “surpassing the level of contemporary civilization.” The relations between Pakistan and Turkey have always been very Cordial and the people of Pakistan and Turkey have brotherly feelings for each other. With the signing of the tripartite movement of Regional Co-operation for Development (R.C.D.), nine years ago, between the two countries and Iran these bonds have been further strengthened. The R.C.D. in the short span of nine years has given content to a dream, substance to an idea and shape to a hope which beacons to a new era of cooperation, Socio-cultural Collaboration and planned economic growth between the three countries. To day the people of Pakistan join their brethren in Turkey in their happiness and whole-heartedly congratulate them on this auspicious occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Republic of Turkey.

10th Anniversary of World Food Programme (October 15, 1973)

Format of the stamp is ver-tical. In a square vignette at the right hand side, a typical Sindhi peasant is shown reaping a crop. The series of the Commemorative Postage Stamps issued by the Pakistan Post Office mark the 10th Anniversary of the World Food Programme which started as an experiment in multi-lateral use of foods to promote economic and social development.
Set up by the United Nations and the Food and Agriculture Organization to use food as capital to bring practical and visible benefits directly to the people who most need them, the Programme has over the past ten years committed $ 1,200 million in food aid to nearly 550 projects of economic and social development in 88 developing countries. It has also provided $ 122 million in relief for the victims of natural and man-made disasters in 74 countries in 161 cases.
The use of WFP food as development capital has helped to build roads, houses, schools, irrigation works and civic amenities, to resettle large communities, to increase meat and milk yields and to reclaim land. It has promoted diversification of crops and helped to provide green cover on eroded hills and plains, to feed nursing and expectant mothers and even to produce more coal and steel. It has also provided food and shelter to people fleeing from earthquake, flood and war and rehabilitated them.
Since the inception of the Programme, WFP has committed to Pakistan more than $ 39.3 million, of which $ 1.2 million has been in emergency aid and the balance &7r~ projects. The most recent aid approved for Pakistan is to help mitigate the effects of the Indo-Pakistan war of December, 1971.
United States $ 15.2 million were granted in a food for-work project for the rehabilitation of 700000 war affected people in the districts of Sialkot and Lahore on their return to their homes. The returning farmers will receive rations over a period of eight and a half months while working to restore land, dwellings, roads and irrigation facilities to return to normal life. The ration consists of wheat, maize, pulses, sugar and vegetable oil. The maize is intended for feeding cattle which are essential for ploughing and draft work. The displaced families who lost their houses, cattle, food reserves, seeds and agricultural implements and other belong-ings during war need more help to restore peace-time conditions.
In order to provide work for displaced persons in the areas of their temporary stay, the emergency grant of $ 1 million was followed by a grant of $ 2.7 million, on a quasi-emergency basis to three schemes, two of them for the construction of roads and the third for the improvement of canal banks. Construction of roads in Gujrat and Sialkot districts is estimated to employ 18,750 persons who will receive part pay-ment in food. 5625 tons of wheat and 450 metric tons of vegetable oil are being dis-tributed amongst them. The other road- building project is in the Tharparkar dis-trict of Sind Province. Nearly 20~O00 wor-kers are being employed to construct a total of 112 miles of roads. The WFP con-tribution to the project is 6,000 tons of wheat and 460 tons of vegetable oil.
Canal banks in the Tharparkar district rare to be improved and channels of the channels taking off the Indus river are to be cleared of silt. The WFP contribution to this project is 6.390 tons of wheat and 490 tons of vegetable oil. Part of it will be dis-tributed to workers as part payment of wages and a part distributed free to some 37,500 people who are invalids, orphans or otherwise in need of help, if they have no breadwinner in the family.
Pakistan first made use of the Prog-ramme in 1963 for emergency supplies to feed victims of the summer floods in East Pakistan. WFP responded with 750 tons of food, the cost of food and shipment was estimated at $ 415,000. This was followed by two more emergency operations in the same area disastrous cyclones and floods in 1966 and 1968 and one in West Pakistan, drought relief in 1966, on which a total of $3,425,000 in resources was expended.
The first project of economic development assisted by WFP in Pakistan became operational in mid-1968, WFP supplying skimmed milk powder to the Karachi Milk Plant at a cost of $ 786,300. A similar project to increase milk supplies in Punjab is being assisted with $ 3.8 million. WFP is sending milk powder and butter oil to the Lahore Milk Plant. The total aid to in-crease milk supplies in Pakistan is estimat-ed at $4.6 million. Livestock and poultry development is also being assisted by WFP at a cost of $ 6.3 million to the Programme. It supplied maize and sorghum for cattle feeding at Landhi, near Karachi. The same commo-dities are being supplied to raise more chickens in the country.
The bulk of the resources of the WFP comes from the United States, but in all, nearly 100 countries provide food, cash and services in a world-wide partnership for development.

Universal Children Day (October 01, 1973)

Format of the stamp is horizontal. An open book with a blue cover is shown with a lighted torch behind it. The yellow and red flame of the torch spreading over a vast area symbolizes the spread of education. A young rural boy in orange coloured Kurta and blue Shalwar is shown standing under the book and the torch by the side of the school building.
Each year Universal Children Day is celebrated throughout the world on the first Monday of October. A world-wide “Children Day” was originally proposed in 1952 by the International Union for Child Welfare (IUCW) and was celebrated for the first time internationally in October, 1953; 40 countries participated. When the United Nations General Assembly passed a formal Resolution establishing ‘Universal Children Day’ in 1954 it assigned to UNICEF the responsibility for promoting this annual “day of world-wide fraternity and understanding among children”. The number of countries and territories in which the Day is observed has risen from 40 in 1953 to more than 100.
The universality of children is the permanent underlying theme. In addition, each year a special theme is chosen to stress one important aspect of children’s lives. This year the special theme is “THE RURAL CHILD”. The conditions confronting the rural child merit our deepest concern. No fewer than 810 million infants and children under the age of fifteen are growing up in rural areas in the developing countries three and a half times as many children as live in urban areas. Trips to moon have ‘been launched on the one hand yet on the other in many parts of the world, reaching a village is difficult even today. Huge parts of our planet are still under-developed. Most of the world’s children live in rural isolation, far from schools, health centres or social services. Children are an invalu-able wealth being tragically wasted in many parts of the world.
In many a developing country water supplies for drinking, cooking, agriculture and sanitation are dangerously inadequate and unreliable. Contaminated water is a major cause of infectious diseases which attacks millions of rural children, resulting in a very high death rate among those children who manage to survive their first year of life.
The United Nations Children’s Fund and the International Union of Child Welfare urge that world attention be directed on Universal Children Day to the extreme disadvantages and obstacles which so many of these rural children face. Good education is the essential key to a happy and useful future. All children are mem-bers of one human family and have the same needs and rights. They need food, shelter, health care, education and hope. We should do whatever we can to help children. When we help the world’s children we are investing in the world’s future. Let us resolve to improve schools and services for all children. If the condi-tions of our rural communities are to be improved, and if our nation as a whole is w become prosperous, rural children need help and for this we should support all efforts to improve both th2 quality and quantity of rural education and health care.
Although elementary school enrollments have increased by about 50% since 1960, yet millions of children—particularly in rural areas still have no opportunity to go to school. School enrolment rate is usually much lower in rural areas than in urban areas, and drop out rate is higher. The drop-out rate after only two or three years of schooling is higher than 50% in most of the developing nations; in some rural areas it is 90%.
The ‘green revolution’ has increased good supplies in many countries but mal-nutrition and under-nutrition still exist among rural children to a tragic extent. UNICEF is helping the governments of developing nations to train more home economists, leaders of women’s clubs and youth groups. and nutritionists to work at the village level, thus helping to increase food supplies and agricultural skills and improve child nutrition. These efforts to help the rural child grow up strong and healthy, and to help rural areas produce more nutritious food deserve our strong support.
The UNICEF is helping governments of the developing countries to undertake rural community development as part of the over all national development. In Pakistan under the dynamic leadership of our Prime Minister, Mr. Zulfiqar All Bhutto, the peoples government have already embarked on the mass Rural Works Programme. But to make the programme a real success volunteers and trained staff are urgently needed. On Universal Children Day we urge everyone to support the Rural Works Programme either by volunteering to help in the work or with financial contributions.

25th Death Anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam (September 11, 1973)

Format of the stamp is vertical with Quaid-I-Azam’s portrait as the subject—The portrait is the one in which he is wearing a Sherwani and a monocle on his right eye. It is based on an engraving and reproduced in Litho.
Pakistan Post Office has issued two Commemorative Postage Stamps in the past to commemorate the first and 16th death anniversaries of the Father of the Nation and this is the third of the series which is being issued on the occasion of his 25th Death Anniversary. The Quaid-i--Azam (the greatest leader) occupies a prominent place amongst the great leaders of the world as he changed the course of history in ASIA and successfully led the hundred million Muslims to establish a separate Muslim State in the South Asian Sub-continent.
Mr. Mohammad Ali Jinnah was born on the 25th December, 1876 in a middle-class family living in a three-storied old-fashioned house known as Wazir Mansion in the old city of Karachi. Wazir Mansion, situated on New Neham Road is in the custody of the Archaeological Department and forms part of the National Archives. The Child grew up to be a fair tall boy and studied at various schools but his longest stay was at Sind Madresah where he made his mark as a disciplined and serious stu-dent and passed his Matriculation at the age of 16. Impressed by his talents and noticing his bent of mind, an English friend of the family persuaded his father to send the boy to England to study law. From his boyhood he was found to be brilliant and promising, zealously devoted to his studies with a burning desire to do something great. He joined the famous Lincoln’s Inn in 1892 and passed all his examinations within two years but had to wait for two years more to reach the age of twenty years when he was called to the bar. Mr. Jinnah returned to India in 1896 and overcoming initial difficulties established a very successful law practice.
He began to take part in the country’s political activity in his early twenties. In 1910 he was elected to the Imperial Legisla-tive Council to which he remained associa-ted for over thirty years. In 1913 he joined the Muslim League, an organisation formed in 1906, to safeguard the legitimate interests of the Indian Muslims.
At the 1916 session of the Congress, Mr. Jinnah helped in persuading the Congress to agree that “in certain pro-vinces” in which the Muslims were in a minority, they should be guaranteed a pro-portion of seats in the future Legislative Council in excess of the number they could otherwise hope to win. This “Lucknow Pact” between the Congress and the Muslim League was the culmination of Mr. Jinnah’s career as the ‘Ambassador of Unity” bet-ween the Hindus and the Muslims.
Mr. Jinnah resigned from the Imperial Legislative Council in 1919 as a protest against the passage of Rowlatt Act, which gave power to the government to try cases of sedition without a jury. Immediately thereafter, the tragedy of Jallianwala Bagh took place in Amritsar in which several hundred peaceful demonstrators were brutally massacred under the orders of General Dyer, British Army Commander, after being surrounded by the troops. In August, 1920, the Treaty of Sevres was signed by which the Allies decided to dis-member the Ottoman Empire and to reduce the powers of the Caliph of Turkey. The Muslims of Indo-Pakistan Sub-continent were indignant, and the Congress joined hands with the Muslim League in launch-ing a violent agitation against this step and against the new political reforms pro-posed under the Montagu-Chelmsford proposals. The proposals declared that the Indians were backward and not fit for self-rule and that Hindu-Muslim anta-gonism was a great stumbling block in the way of freedom.
In 1928, Mr. Jinnah, pleaded for am-endments in the constitutional proposals, to safeguard the interests of the Muslims and to maintain Hindu-Muslim unity, but his suggestion fell on deaf ears. He was utterly disgusted with the intolerance of the Hindu politicians. In 1930 and 1931 he attended the Round Table Conference call-ed by the British Government to arrive at some agreed solution of India’s constitu-tional problems. When these also proved futile as a result of the intransigence of the Hindus, Mr. Jinnah decided to settle in England, away from the fury of Indian politics.
In 1934 he returned from England to lead the Muslims again. He was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly by the Muslims of Bombay as an Independent member, even without his prior consent. In the following year, the Government of India Act of 1935 was passed. The Mus-lim League began preparations to fight the coming elections, and Mr. Jinnah was chosen President of the Central Election Board at the Muslim League Session of 1936 at Bombay. Mr. Jinnah made a cla-rion call to the Muslims, “Organise your-self and play your part. The Hindus and the Muslims must be organised separately, and once they are organized, they will understand each other better.”
In March 1940, the Muslim League held its session at Lahore in which the historic “Pakistan Resolution” was passed. Henceforth the political ideal of the Mus-lims of India was the attainment of a se-parate homeland where they could live according to their distinct way of life. Mr. Jinnah was now proclaimed by the Mus-lims as their “Quaid-i-Azam” (the greatest leader).
In the years that followed Quaid-i--Azam negotiated with the Cripps Mission on behalf of the Muslims. The result was a failure but it was for the first time that the British acknowledged the demand of the Muslims for a separate state. The Congress was alarmed and after the failure of the Cripps Mission, they launched the violent ‘Quit India’ movement against the British in 1942. As this movement worked against the establishment of a separate Muslim State, Quaid-i-Azam kept the Muslims clear of all these disturbances. Next he had to match his wits with Mr. Gandhi during the talks in 1944. When the Great War ended in May 1945, the Congress leaders were freed from prison and the British Government again started negotiations for constitutional changes in India. First came the Wavell Plan, then the more important Cabinet Mission Plan. Before the latter, an important event was the new elections held in India in January 1946. The victory of the Muslim League at the polls was overwhelming both in the provinces and in the Central Assembly. It was a measure of the Quaid’s glorious success in his mission of organizing the Indian Muslims. Well could he declare “No power on earth can prevent Pakistan now.”
Thereafter, the achievement of Pakistan as a separate homeland became Quaid-i-Azam’s dominant aim which he steadfastly pursued, and by dint of his exceptional statesmanship, constitutional acumen, and intelligent advocacy, he ultimately succeeded in getting the Pakistan idea accepted by the Indian National Congress -a predominantly Hindu political organisation as well as the British Government.
Quaid-i-Azam was seventyone and already very weak when he took over as first Governor-General of Pakistan. For forty years he had worked untiringly round the clock denying himself the pleasures of world at his command and much needed relaxation. As the head of a new born State, he had to work day and night ignor-ing medical advice. He had only one thought uppermost in his mind to make Pakistan a strong and respected nation in the comity of the nations of the World. The continuous hard work finally took its toll and the Quaid-i-Azam died on 11th September, 1948 in Karachi mourned by a grateful nation, but as one of the great immortals of history.

Independence Day & Enforcement of the Constitution (August 14, 1973)

Format of the stamp is vertical. Against a blue background Pakistan Flag is shown flut-tering at the top and an open book of the Constitution is shown below the Flag in brown colour.
Pakistan Post Office had issued Com-memorative Stamps on the occasions of 20th and 25th Anniversaries of Indepen-dence but issue of a Commemorative Stamp on the 26th Anniversary of Inde-pendence marks a very important event in the History of Pakistan as on this day the Constitution of The Islamic Republic of Pakistan framed by the National Assembly elected directly by the people on the basis of adult franchise comes into force.
It was on 14 August, 1947 that Pakistan—the land of the pure - was created. Before that date it had formed part of British India, now known as South Asian Sub-Continent. The 400 million inhabitants of the Sub-Continent had never been one single nation. They really consisted of two major distinct nations, 300 million Hindus and 90 million Mus-lims, who had lived there side by side for many centuries but who never merged into each other in spirit or in outlook. In the beginning, Muslims and Hindus struggled together to throw off the British yoke and win independence, but, on seeing that the Hindus, who outnumbered the Muslims, were not prepared to show a spirit of tolerance and to provide adequate safe-guards for the Muslims, the latter decided to launch a movement for a separate Muslim State. At the annual session of Muslim League held in Allahabad in 1930 Dr. Mohammad Iqbal in his presidential address had conceived the establishment of a Muslim State in the Sub-Continent. Mr. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, a prominent Muslim leader of India, who was disillu-sioned by the differences between Hindus and Muslims and had temporarily settled down in London, was persuaded to return and take up the cause of the Indian Mus-lims. This leader who later came to be known as the Quaid-i-Azam (The great leader) organised that Muslim League as a mass organisation of the Indian Muslim. On 23 March, 1940, the ‘Pakistan Resolu-tion’ was passed at the annual session of the All-India Muslim League at Lahore.
Henceforth the establishment of a separate Muslim State, in which Muslims could live according to their distinct way of life, was the political destination of the Mus-lims of India. The elections of 1946, gave the Muslim League a resounding electoral victory which proved, beyond any doubt, that “Pakistan Resolution” expressed the will of Muslims of India. On 18 July 1947, the British Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act laying down that from 15 August, 1947, two independent domi-nions shall be set up in India to be known as India and Pakistan. Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah lived to see the realisation of the goal, for which he had fought for over a quarter of a century.
It is to his sincere leadership and undaunted courage and to the unflinching devotion of the Muslims of India that we have the freedom we enjoy today.
On the establishment of Pakistan on 14 August, 1947 the Quaid-i-Azam became the first Governor-General of Pakistan.
Pakistan came into being under very adverse circumstances and, as a European writer remarked, “the new-born baby was thrown with its swaddling into a raging river.” That it survived the initial shock and disorder was entirely due to the innate good sense of the people, and their dedica-tion to the difficult task of making Pakistan viable state under the fostering care of one of the greatest leaders among the Muslims of the 20th century. His dedi-cated lieutenants, the civil services, the army and the new industrialists deserve all praise for this. But, as time passed on, particularly after the death of Quaid-e-Azam, cracks began to appear in the national edifice. Dedication and patriotism gradually gave place to pursuit of power, prestige and wealth. Corruption and nepotism ate into the very vitals of the society, and slowed down the process of reconstruction and nation building. Politi-cal leaders isolated themselves from the mainstream of the masses from whom they had derived their representative character and politics became a profession of a few individuals and families. Economic and social growth began to deviate drastically from the goals, which the Father of the Nation had set before us.
The erosion of democracy in Pakistan and the disgraceful exploitation of the poor by the rich and of the weak by the strong led to the imposition of Martial Law in 1958 by Mr. Iskandar Mirza, the then Governor-General, who assumed the office of the President and appointed General Mohammad Ayub Khan as the Chief Martial Law Administrator. This imposi-tion of Martial Law was only a variant of Fascism through the agency of the army. Soon after the imposition of Martial Law, General Mohammad Ayub Khan ousted Mr. Iskandar Mirza and himself assumed the office of the President. It was natural that, with the passage of time, this military regime degenerated into mis-rule by a clique of political adventurists who were motivated by their own selfish interests alone. When people rose against political repression and economic exploitation and General Ayub Khan had no choice but to quit, he handed over power to the then Commander-in-Chief, Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan on 25th March, 1969. The story of Pakistan from this date to 20th December, 1971 is too tragic and painful and too well-known to be repeated. General Yahya Khan was finally compelled on 20th December, 1971 to transfer power to Mr. Zulfiqar All Bhutto, the Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party, who had won the support of the masses in the general elections of December, 1970. The new President with his characteristic energy, astute knowledge of the international Cross-currents, complete awareness of the potentiality of his people and his country’s resources, set about to salvage what was left of Pakistan which had been the dream and the hope of millions of people, and initiated many reforms of far-reaching implications.
After twenty six years today, the nation gets the first permanent constitu-tion, framed under the inspiring leadership of Mr. Zulfiqar All Bhutto and passed by the directly elected representatives of the people. This is the beginning of a new era of hope and promise, of a democratic government answerable to the people, of the end of exploitation of man by man.

9th Anniversary of R.C.D. (July 21, 1973)

Format of all the three stamps is vertical having a rectangle at left for the subject and a border pa-nel at right and bottom.
The subject of 20-Paisa Stamp is the ancient archaeo-logical finds of “Lut Desert Diggings” in Iran.
The subject of 60-Paisa Stamp is “The Main Street of Moenjodaro” in Pakistan.
The subject of Rs. 1.25 Stamp is “The Mausoleum of King Antiochus I” in Turkey.
To mark the 9th Anniversary on 21 July, 1973, of the establishment of the Regional Co-operation for Deve-lopment, Pakistan, along-with the other two member-count-ries, is issuing a set of three Commemorative Postage Stamps. The subject of these stamps is “Archaeological Sites” of the three countries. The following is the brief description of the subject of each stamp:—
PAKISTAN:
MAIN STREET OF MOENJODARO
The five-thousand-year old remains of Moenjodaro represent the earliest urban planning in the world. The vast remains of the dead city excavated partly from 1922 to 1931 show regular gridirons of city blocks, each making a rectangle nearly 1200 feet in length from north to south and 800 feet in breadth from east to west. The main street running the whole length of the low city from north to south is about 32 feet wide, and is joined by lanes, 8 to 10 feet in width. The lanes are in turn, connected with the by-lanes, usually 5 feet in width. It is commonly on the by-lanes that doors of houses open, indicating that the people took great precaution against street accidents even in those days of slow moving traffic of bullock-carts. Beneath the surface of the lanes and by-lanes are the co-vered drains running in the middle of the whole length and meeting wider discharge drains for quick disposal.
In brief, the mathematical precision of layout, consi-deration of traffic and sanitary regulations, provisions for avoiding direct rays of the scorching sun and breaking the force of gusty winds, so much apparent in the town plan-ning of Moenjodaro, all speak for a high sense of propor-tion and far sight of a race which inhabited the Indus Valley more than five thousand years ago.
TURKEY:
THE COLOSSAL STATUES OF THE MAUSOLEUM OF KING ANTIOCHUS I;
The Mausoleum of King Antiochus I is on Nemrud Mountain (2400 meters), which is a part of Anti-Taurus Mountains in Adlyaman Province. Antiochus I (reigned BC 69-34) is the second king of the Commagene Kingdom. These three colossal statues are on the West Terrace of the Mausoleum.
Their original heights are about 8 meters and they are made of sandstone. The heads of these statues are about 1.80 meters. The statue, in the front position depicts the god Zeus-Oromasdes. The colossal statue on the left depicts the Sun God Apollo-Mithra and the third one depicts the goddess of Commagene who is the goddess of Fortuna. Zeus and Apollo statues have the. Anatolian style hat, but the statue of the Goddess Commagene has a crown with fruits on it.
These statues have the Late-Hittite and Hellenic characteristics and it is believed that they are made by either Hellenes-or Anatolian artists who were trained in the Hellenic Art Schools. They are interesting works of the Late- Hellenic age. IRAN:
An archaeological expedition succeeded in unearthing, in Lut Desert (Dasht-e-Kavir) in 1968, relics of the civilisation belonging to a period at the end of the 4th and the beginning of the 3rd century BC. One of the finds, the subject of the stamp this year, was a clay bust of a man with black hair and beard. The bust, 71.5 cm. high and 47 cm. wide, has a dark yellow body with both hands on the chest.
R. C. D.
Following the Istanbul Summit Conference between the Heads of State of Iran, Pakistan and, Turkey in 1964, there came into being an historic tripartite arrangement between these three countries, known as the Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD). This Cooperation aimed at further strengthening the already firm socio-economic ties existing between the three countries and the attainment of greater welfare and prosperity for the peo-ple, inhabiting this Region.
Based on the geographical contiguity and common heritage of history and culture of the member countries, RCD, with its Secretariat permanently located in Tehran, has succeeded in stimulating concrete action in diverse fields of socio-economic endeavour, such as trade and industry, petroleum and petrochemicals, insurance and banking, transport and communications, technical cooperation and public administration and exchange of scientific knowledge and cultural cooperation.
In the fields of trade, for example, the Member Governments have reached the final stage of concluding a trade liberalisation agreement, a measure which would go a long way in further strengthening the economic ties amongst the RCD Countries.
As regards industrial cooperation, the regional part-ners have registered a considerable measure of success in the establishment of joint-purpose enterprises. Hitherto, three major projects, with the participation of the member countries in the equity capital, have gone into production. They are Bank Note and Security Papers Ltd. and RCD Ball Bearing Limited, both located in Pakistan, and the Iranian Aluminum Company located in Iran. There are many other joint-purpose enterprises in different stages of formulation.
In the field of petroleum and petrochemicals, negotia-tions are in progress to work out an arrangement whereby the requirements of the member countries would be met from within the Region.
A regard banking, a comprehensive RCD Banking Manual was published in 1969 and, as a result of discussions held in Karachi in 1972, a Regional Development Bank is proposed to be established, depending upon the expansion in the volume of trade in the Region.
In the field of insurance and reinsurance, considerable cooperation has been stimulated through the RCD Insu-rance Centre in Karachi. The no-profit-based RCD Inter-national School of Insurance, which was founded in Tehran in 1970, is also expected to benefit the insurance industry of the three member countries in the: years to come.
Regarding transport and communications, remarkable progress has been made in the construction of the RCD Highway and the rail link between the three countries. The cooperation in air transportation is also worthy of note.
The three RCD countries already enjoy a direct micro-wave link and preferential intra-regional postage charges. To this has been added the successful functioning of the RCD Shipping Services, to which almost all the major shipping companies of Iran, Pakistan and Turkey belong, since its inception in Istanbul in 1965.
Another factor of strengthening ties is the pro-gramme of technical cooperation between the three RCD countries. This programme provides not only for exchange of experts, individually or in teams, but also for techni-cal and professional training and technical scholarships and fellowships.
In the field of cultural cooperation, the RCD Cultural Institute, situated in Tehran with branches in Islamabad and Istanbul, has, in its attempt to create awareness of the common cultural heritage of the people of the Region, undertaken research in historical, religious and cultural development of the member countries. The Institute has, since its inception in 1966, published over forty books, both classic and contemporary, in the field of art, culture and literature. It brings out a widely circulated quarterly journal and main-tains a library which contains over four thousand books. RCD has a very extensive programme for annual exchange of visits of eminent personalities, painters along-with ex-hibits, professors and teachers, performing artists, sportsman. youths, etc. A special exchange programme also exists to foster closer cooperation between the women orga-nisations of the three member countries.
Finally, in the realm of information and public relations the RCD Secretariat, inter alia, issues press releases, brings out a booklet on the occasion of RCD Anniversary each July, prints and distributes a diary each year and has produced many publications. To secure closer cooperation between the news media of the region, there exist regular exchange programmes and seminars for journalists and continuous consultation between the heads of the radio/television and the news agencies of the three member countries. Attempts have also been made for the greater projection of RCD outside the Region through foreign information and news media.

25th Anniversary of State Bank of Pakistan (July 01, 1973)

The stamp is horizontal in format. A prospec-tive view of the State Bank Building is shown in suitable colour of Brown, Yellow, Blue and Mauve against a blue sky. The insignia of the Bank is shown on the right corner inside a decorated circular rosette in Red, Blue and Yellow colour. The background colour of the insignia is Pink for Re. 1~- value and yellow for 20-Paisa value. A panel which is green for Re. ii- stamp and Red for 20-Paisa value stamp runs across the bottom of the stamp, contai-ning the caption “2 5th Anniversary State Bank of Pakis-tan” in Yellow colour. The value appears in the top right corner in Red Colour while the word “Postage” across the left edge of the stamp is in red colour. The word “Pakistan” in Urdu appears at right just above the building in Black colour.
Twenty-five years ago, on 1st July, 1948 Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah inaugurated the State Bank of Pakistan as the central banking authority of the country. The functions of the State Bank as originally conceived and embodied in the State Bank of Pakistan Order, 1948 were to “regulate the issue of bank notes and keeping of reserves with a view to securing monetary stability in Pakistan and generally to operate the currency and credit system of the country to its advantage.” Thus the founding law envisaged a role for the State Bank that conformed to the traditional concept of central banking. Soon after its inception, however, the State Bank came face to face with the reality of a shattered banking structure in the aftermath of the Partition. The State Bank was, therefore, entrusted with the responsibility to develop an efficient financial infra-structure on a top-priority basis in addition to its role of a Central Bank. Moreover, it had not only to develop these institutions but also to influence their outlook, policies and practices in such a way as to bring them in harmony with the major national economic objectives. These wider objectives and functions were embo-died in the State Bank of Pakistan Act, 1956.
In promoting the development of the financial system in Pakistan, the State Bank has endeavored to ensure that (a) the emerging banking structure is not unduly dominated by foreign-owned institutions and (b) the banks are financially sound and functionally efficient.
The first important step that the State Bank took in regard to the development of the banking system was to sponsor a scheme in 1949 for setting up the National Bank of Pakistan, with 25% government participation in its share capital. In 1950, the State Bank decided to restrict the opening of new branches by foreign banks only to port towns or larger cities, where the volume of foreign trade justified opening of branches by them. In the interior of the country only Pakistani banks were allowed to open branches. Moreover, in order to encourage banks to spread into the interior of the country and to discourage undue concentration of bank offices in big cities, the Bank has laid down that for every new branch in a big city, a bank should open two offices in smaller towns. The State Bank also sponsored .the establishment of a regional bank in East Pakistan in 1959 with a view to encouraging the spread of banking facilities in that wing.
Besides promoting commercial banks the State Bank also sponsored the establishment of a number of specialised credit institutions such, as PICIC, IDBP and ADBP to cater to the credit requirements of industrial and agricultural sectors. The State Bank has also endeavored to develop the capital market in the country.
The State Bank has played a crucial role in enabling the banking system to meet the growing demand for funds for development. Assistance by the State Bank to the banking system with due regard to the requirements of the monetary situation has helped them to tide over short-term resource gaps which enabled them to meet smoothly the credit needs of the economy. It has also made available sizeable counter-finance to the banks against loans to the government for its food procurement and commodity operations. It has granted liberal credit limits to the scheduled banks under the Bill Discounting Scheme with a view to enabling them to meet the financing requirements of the cash crops without difficulty.
The volume of loans provided by the State Bank to the agricultural sector has also grown rapidly. It has been lending on a substantial scale to the cooperatives. At the same time, it has served as an important source of funds for the lending operations of the Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan. Since 1958, it has also augmented the resources of the House Building Finance Corporation by purchasing debentures issued by the Corporation from time to time.
While trying to maintain a delicate balance between the objectives of monetary stability and sustained economic growth, the State Bank has endeavored to evolve techniques of monetary management suited to the conditions in the country. The system of credit budgeting and changes in selective credit controls are designed to regulate the overall availability and the flow of credit for various purposes so as to safeguard against excessive credit expansion and misuse of credit and, at the same time, to ensure adequate availability of credit for productive purposes.
In keeping with its statutory obligations, the State Bank has also tendered advice to the government on financial matters. It has also endeavored to infuse a greater realism in Plan formulation, so that claims and real resources may by and large remain in balance, keeping in view the development goals.
In May, 1972, far-reaching Banking Reforms were intro-duced by the new popularly-elected government with a view to bringing about a more purposeful and equitable distribu-tion of credit, ensuring social accountability of banks and improving their efficiency and soundness. A number of measures have been taken in pursuance of the Banking Re-forms. To bring about more equitable distribution of bank credit, a system of ceiling on borrowings from banks related to their paid-up capital and reserves, covering individual borrowers, was established. The control of the State Bank over banks’ management has been strengthened to avoid mis-management of their affairs. To improve the soundness of the banks, they have been required to gradually strengthen their capital base. The institutional framework needed to implement the provisions of the Banking Reforms has also been established. A National Credit Consultative Council has been set up under the aegis of the State Bank of Pakistan to make recommendations about the distribution of bank credit among various sectors and regions in the country and to set specific targets for sectors which hitherto remained neglected. An Agricultural Credit Advisory Committee has also been set up under the aegis of the State Bank which has the responsibility to coordinate the working of the various agricultural agencies and to watch the progress of the flow of credit to the agricultural sector. A standing committee on Export Finance has also been set up in pursuance of the Banking Reforms. The main functions of the Committee are to review the credit situation in respect of exports in general and the newly emerging exports in particular, to create maximum possible liaison between various agencies connected with export credit and to periodically review the progress made in the implementation of its recommendations. To supervise the imple-mentation of the targets for Small Loans and to study the credit problems of the small businessman on a continuing basis, a Small Business Division has been created in the State Bank. The State Bank has also introduced a number of special financing schemes with a view to facilitating the achievement of the objective of a more purposeful and equitable distribution of bank credit. These schemes include (i) Small Loans Scheme for businessmen and industrialists, (ii) Scheme for Agricultural Loans by commercial banks, (iii) Scheme fox financing local sales and exports of locally manufactured machinery, and (iv) Refinance Scheme for non-traditional and newly-emerging exports.

Constitution Week (April 21, 1973)

The stamp is horizontal in format. The National Assembly Building and the Constitution Book form the main subject of the design. The Building which is in brown and black colours appears against light blue sky sur-rounded by a green border. An open book of the Constitution appears at the top right hand corner of this border in brown and black colours. The caption ‘Constitution Week’ in white appears in the lower portion of the border. The denomination figure ‘20-Paisa’ in light blue colour appears in the bottom right corner with the word ‘Postage’ in reverse form. The word “Pakistan” in English and Urdu appears in light blue colour at top and left portion of the border respectively.
To commemorate the Constitution Week, the Pakistan Post Office is issuing a postage stamp of 20-Paisa denomination on 21st April, 1973. For the first time in the history of Pakistan the National Assembly, elected directly by the people on the basis of adult franchise, met in an historic session on April 14, 1972.
The Assembly passed a unanimous vote of confidence in the President Mr. Zulfiqar Au Bhutto and adopted the interim Con-stitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The Interim Constitution also contained some new provisions necessitated by the attending circumstances. It came into effect from 21st April, 1972, from which date Marshal Law was withdrawn.
The National Assembly also appointed 25-member Constitution Committee to pre-pare and submit a draft of the permanent constitution by 1st August, 1972. The Committee held long discussions on the various aspects of the Constitution and agreed on the basic principle that the permanent Constitution should be based on federal and parlia-mentary system. In order to evolve a consen-sus on fundamental principles the President met the leaders of the parliamentary parties and groups on 17th October 1972. A Con-stitutional Accord was signed on 20th October, 1972 between the leaders of the political parties and groups represented in the National Assembly in which basic prin-ciples were agreed to by all of them.
The Committee then resumed its discus-sions from 2nd December, 1972 and sat continuously till 2lsI December, 1972 to con-sider the draft of the Constitution, prepared by the Ministry of Law and Parliamentary Affairs and the National Assembly Secre-tariat ~n the light of the Constitutional Accord. The Committee also processed the amendments proposed thereto by its mem-bers. The Committee finalized its work on 31st December, 1972 after deliberating for a total of 170 hours in 48 sittings spread over a period of 30 days in all.
In its deliberations the Committee made every effort to arrive at agreed conclusions and to resolve differences of opinion. There were, however, some minutes of dissent which were appended to the report. The members of the Committee took full cognizance of the realities and objective conditions in Pakistan and endeavored to prepare such a basic law for Pakistan which would not only help create a progressive and egalitarian society but also provide an effective deterrent against exploitation in all forms. The Committee decided to incorporate in the Preamble, with minor adjustments, the resolution passed by the first Constituent Assembly on 12th March, 1949, popularly known as the “Objectives Resolution “, reflecting the struggle waged by the people for a return to democratic and constitutional government and for achieving national unity by creating an egalitarian society through a new order. The Preamble further reaffirmed the Quaid-e-Azam’s declaration that Pakistan would be a democratic State based on the Islamic principles of Social justice.
There was complete agreement that the future Constitution of Pakistan should pro-vide for a federal and parliamentary form of government in which the executive would be fully answerable to the parliament—the true embodiment of the will of a sovereign people.
The draft constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan drawn up in accordance with the Constitutional Accord of 20th October, 1972 and as presented by the Constitution Committee to the National Assem-bly on 31st December, 1972 in the form of a bill comprises 280 Articles and six schedules. Thc discussion in the Assembly continued from about the middle of January to the middle of April, 1973. About 2,000 amendments were moved by various parties. The Assembly completed the second reading of the draft constitution on April 9th and passed the Constitution Bill on 10th April.
In line with some of the modern con-stitutions of the world, Pakistan’s Con-stitution is a short and precise document leaving a large field to the legislature for enacting organic laws. The Constitution envisages a federal parliamentary system. Although the President will be the con-stitutional head, the chief executive is the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister will be elected by the National Assembly Parliament will be bicameral. The National Assembly consisting of 210 members, (including 10 ladies) will be elected on the basis of free, secret and adult franchise. The senate will consist of 63 members, 14 from each province, five from Federally administered Tribal Areas and two from the Federal Capital, elected by the members of the Provincial Assemblies. The Constitution ensures stability by providing that a no-confidence motion against a Prime Minister cannot be moved unless the name of his successor is proposed in the same resolution.
It guarantees fundamental rights and makes them justifiable. It also lays down Principles of Policy for the guidance of all organs of State making them fully answerable to the National Assembly.
The division of subjects between the Federation and the Provinces ensures maximum autonomy to the Provinces con-sistent with national unity and integrity. The federal character of the Constitution is strengthened and made meaningful by the creation of a Council of Common Interests consisting of equal number of representatives from the Provinces and the Federal Government. The functions of the Council include the formulation and regulation of policies in relation to Federal subjects in which the provinces have a vital interest e.g. railways and certain major federally controlled institutions.
The Constitution makes provision for the setting up of a National Economic Council to advise the government in the formulation of development plans, and a National Finance Commission for making recommendations for allocating the revenue derived from certain specified sources between the Federation and the Provinces. The Constitution declares Islam, for the first time, as the State Religion. It provides for a Council of Islamic Ideology, with enlarged functions to bring the existing laws into conformity with the injunctions of Islam and to recommend ways and means for enabling and encouraging the Muslims of Pakistan to order their lives in accordance with the principles and concepts of Islam as enunciated in the Holy Quran and Sunnah.

Prisoners of War in India (April 18,1973)

Format of the stamp is horizontal. A gloomy picture of a prison camp is shown in a. rect-angle at the right side of the stamp against a black background. A multitude of prisoners clad in the prisoners uniform are shown standing behind a mesh of barbed wire. In the broader panel at left of the rectangle, a sad boy is shown anxiously awaiting the return of his father. The figure 90,000 appears in pink below the figure of the boy while the caption ‘Prisoners of War in India, Challenge to World Con-science appears in two lines in white below the rectangle. The word ‘Pakistan’ in English and Urdu appears in white at top of the rectangle. The deno-mination ‘Rs. 1.25’ is placed at top in pink colour while the word ‘postage’ in Blue alongside the right side of the rectangle.
The Pakistan Post Office is issuing a Special Postage Stamp of Rs. 1.25 denomination to raise the world consci-ence to the 90,000 Pakistani Prisoners of War languishing in Indian camps for over 15 months. Over 90,000 Pakistani Prisoners of War and Civi1ian including women, children and infirm and old people are held in captivity by India even though the lndo-Pakistan war end-ed in December 1971. As required by the international law, Pakistan has released all Indian soldiers and civilians and they have already returned to their homes in India. On 17-12-71 India & Pakistan agreed to cease-fire. On 2-7-1972 India & Pakistan signed the Simla Agreement as a result of which both sides vacated each other’s territory occupied by them during the war of December 1971.
Article 118 of third Geneva Convention of 1949 about the treatment of Prisoners of War provides: “Prisoners of War shall be released and repatriated without delay after the cessation of active hostilities.”
Article 134 of 4th Geneva Convention of 1949 about the treatment of civil internees provides: “The high contracting parties shall endeavour, upon the close of hostilities or occupation, to ensure the return of all internees to their last place of residence, or to facilitate their repatriation.”
India is a signatory to this Convention and India pledged:
“I should like to assure the Council that India has no territorial ambitions in Bangla Desh or in West Pakistan. During the conflict India stands committed to dealing with the enemy forces according to Geneva Con-ventions. Indian Chief of Army Staff has assured his Pakistani counterpart of this commitment of the Govern-ment of India on 7-12-71. He has gone one step further in assuring the West Pakistani troops in East Bengal of their safe evacuation to West Pakistan, if they would surrender and discontinue their repression of the civilian population of Bangla Desh.”
(Statement of Sardar Swaran Singh, External Affairs Minister of India in the Security Council on 12-12-71). “I give you my solemn assurance that the personnel who surrender shall be treated with dignity and respect all soldiers are entitled to and we shall abide by the provisions of the Geneva Convention.” (Message of General Sam Manek Shaw, Indian Army Chief of Staff broadcast by All India Radio on 15-12-71). United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 307 unanimously on 12-12-71 an extract of which is repro-duced below:
The Security Council calls upon all those concerned to take all measures necessary to preserve human life and for the observance of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and to apply in full their provisions as regards the protection of wounded & sick, prisoners of war & civilian population.”
United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 2938 unanimously on 29-11-72, an extract of which is reproduced below:
“The General Assembly expresses the desire that the parties concerned make all possible efforts in a spirit of cooperation & mutual respect to reach a fair settlement of the issues that are still pending and calls for the return of the prisoners of war in accordance with the Geneva Conven-tions of 1949 and the relevant provisions of Security Council Resolution 307.”
The International Commission of Jurists has urged the Indian Government to take immediately all necessary steps in order to liberate and repatriate the Pakistani Prisoners of War detained in India:
“The International Commission of Jurists believes that a plan for the repatriation of the prisoners should now be prepared and carried out without delay in accordance with the Geneva Conventions. Public opinion is already beginning to ask questions about the future of these prisoners.”
This cruel & barbarous treatment meted out to the Pakistani Prisoners of War by India is confirmed by the report of the International Committee of the Red Cross reproduced by “Washington Post” in their issue of 23-12-72. Some extracts are reproduced below:
“During interrogation following an escape attempt, the Prisoners of War reported they were beaten and eight were bitten by army dogs. The Red Cross Report said the Camp Commander did not deny the collective punishment but termed the dog bites ‘an accident due to the fact that the prisoners’ behavior provoked the dogs’ reaction”.
“In July, Shafqat Hussain, a POW re-captured after trying to escape, told a Red Cross doctor that during interrogation at Amritsar headquarters the nails of both his index fingers had been pulled out. He also said that he had been burnt with cigarettes on both feet and hung by his feet for an hour and a half, and that a rope had been bound around his body and wetted, causing terrible contraction:
“The Red Cross doctor said that on checking Hussain, ‘the nail of his left index finger was found totally missing, while the nail of his right index finger was partly pulled out. On both his ankles were found scars of the same size as the end of a cigarette”.
The new measures included confining all POWs to their barracks from sunset to sunrise no longer allowing them to visit the latrine at night. Later, the reports indicate, annexes were built to the barracks to serve as night Urinals. But reporting on the situation in Sep-tember at the camps at Allahabad, the Red Cross said:
‘Buckets had been placed inside the barracks’. The prisoners had to use these to relieve themselves in front of all the other prisoners. In view of the fact that the barracks were over-crowd, men had to sleep right next to the buckets. The fact that there were some cases of dysentery made matters worse. The electric fans in the barracks were switched off. All windows and doors had to be kept closed.
Of the six prisoners killed during this incident. two at least, if not three, seemed to be cases rather of cold-blooded murder than of self-defense.
The leaders of world opinion have unanimously expres-sed their anxiety & concern for the immediate repatriation of the Pakistani POWs held in captivity in India. Two such representative opinions expressive of the concern & anxiety of the world community about the plight of the Pakistani POWs in India are reproduced below:
“The abstention of my (Belgian) delegation is to be interpreted as the expression of the serious concern of the Belgian Government at the fact that 80,000 prisoners of war and 10,000 Pakistani officials are still in camps almost nine months after the cessation of hostilities and have not been liberated nor repatriated. This regrettable state of affairs is contrary to the relevant provisions of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Furthermore as a founding Member of the United Nations. Belgium cannot accept that human lives be used as hostages for purely political purposes and negotiations.”
AMBASSADOR, EDOUARD LONGERSTAEY, Belgian Represen-tative in the Security Council, 25 August, 1972. “There should be widespread indignation on the continued imprisonment of 92,000 Pakistanis by the Government of India more than a year after the cessation of hostilities. An estimated 20,000 of these are civilians including women and children, who are innocent of any war acts except the misfortune of being caught in the middle.
“India is a signatory to the Geneva Convention which sets forth clearly the proper procedures for the handling and treatment of prisoners of war. India shows no compassion for these unfortunate individuals and amazingly it appears that most of the nations of the world are equally unconcerned. This includes the United States.
“Hostilities between Pakistan and India ceased more than a year ago yet India has made no move to free these tens of thousands of human beings.
“Rather, India has followed the illegal path of attaching political terms to their release. India has told Pakistan it will hold these prisoners as hostages until such time as Pakistan extends formal recognition to the Government of Bangladesh. This is cruelty of the grossest sort. Many of’ those beings held in illegal bandage & Thy India are innocent children born in the prison camps. Yet India continues to tell these prisoners that, despite the war’s end, they will be held until their country meets other conditions beyond those reached at the cessa-tion of fighting.”
(MR. BOB SJKES, Member. U.S. House of Representatives. 1 February. 1973).
The world press had also expressed the concern & an-xiety of the world community through their columns & editorials. Some extracts from these world press comments are reproduced below:
“This (India’s contention that Pakistani prisoners of war had surrendered to the joint command of India and ‘Mukti Bahini’) is not supported by the historic event and also does not appear in historic photographs of the signing ceremony or the act of surrender. In these photo-graphs, no representative whatsoever or Mukti Bahini appears at the ceremony.
“India alone is bearing expenses for maintenance of Pakistani prisoners of war after the end of hostility, that is to say, for more than five months, and their expenses are almost one-third of the total expenditure met by India on Bengali refugees during the whole year. This also ex-poses India’s myth that the burden of refugees was a threat to her national economy and she had therefore invaded East Pakistan.”
(—Le Monde, Paris, 21 May, 1972)
What makes the situation uglier is that these prisoners of war include women and children many of them infants. If, for whatever reason, there is justification for holding the captured soldiers prisoners, there does not appear to be any justification whatsoever for holding Infants and civilian women as prisoners of war. It is our view that there is a pressing human problem here which transcends the realm of politics and which cannot be left exclusive to the mercy of political antagonists”.
THE WEEKLY SPECTATOP ACCRA, 16 Dec. 1972.
“After the cessation of active hostilities the prisoners were to be released and repatriated without delay except those held for trial or serving sentences Imposed by judicial processes. and why are we detaining innocent women and children, even babies\".
We have no moral justification for detaining prisoners as hostages for the recognition of Bangladesh The soldiers had surrendered to our army and the joint command idea is nothing but fiction
TIMES OF INDL4, NEW DELHI, 7 January, 1973
. Letter to the Editor.
“No doubt there have been attempts at escape after so long a period of detention but in such circumstances deaths seem unduly harsh. Pakistani prisoners deserve to be released and there is no case of their continued deten-tion as a lever for any political advantage that may be obtained. India, as the guardian of prisoners must also discharge an obligation that can no longer be delayed by the concern for obstinacy in Dacca.”
THE LONDON TIMES, 29 January, 1973.
“But Bangladesh hasn’t helped matters with its vindic-tive threat of mass war crime trials of Pakistani prisoners and its rejection of President Bhutto’s conciliatory offers to have prior talks with the Bengali leader, Shaikh Mujibur Rahman.
“The release of prisoners, moreover, cannot legitima-tely be tide to the recognition issue. As some Indian jour-nalists have begun to point out, the Geneva Convention of 1949, to which both India and Pakistan are signatories, calls for the release and repatriation of prisoners without delay after the cessation of hostilities; If Shaikh Mujib cannot be persuaded to be more reasonable, the prisoners should be freed without his concurrence in accordance with the international law.”
THE NEW YORK TIMES, 31 January, 1973.
Now it is for all civilized nations and individuals who believe in the values of international law and morality to compel India to honour obligations under the Geneva Con-ventions and release 90,000 Pakistani POWs without any further delay.