At a lecture held at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Nawab Jahangir Khanji of Junagarh described the history and current state of the once Muslim-ruled state that is now under India’s illegal occupation.

He spoke of how his ancestors had been rewarded jagirs by the Mughal Emperors, and how one of them had been awarded Junagarh to rule as an independent state in 1739.

Nawab Jahangir Khanji also explained that on 15th September 1947, his grandfather, the then governor of Junagarh, Nawab Mohabat Khanji, had signed the ‘Instrument of Accession’ with Pakistan’s Governor General, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, making Junagarh the first princely state to accede to Pakistan.

However, he went on to say that India had violated this agreement on 9th November 1947.

In conclusion, Nawab Jahangir Khanji’s lecture on ‘Junagarh is Pakistan today’ highlighted the long history of the once Muslim-ruled state, now under India’s illegal occupation. Although Junagarh had signed the ‘Instrument of Accession’ to accede to Pakistan in 1947, India illegally occupied the state in November 1947. This lecture is a reminder of the injustice that was done to Junagarh and of the need for Pakistan to continue to fight for its rightful ownership of the state.