'Memoirs and Recollections of An Officer of the Indian Political Service' [‎68r] (135/156)

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There was, however, one institution in Karachi on which we concentrated which was
wholly controlled by local British trading concerns and companies. This was the well
established British Chamber of Commerce which owned outright a large and handsome
classical style building in the centre of the city. It was in fact somewhat larger
than the Chamber really needed, so much so, that they had let out the rear portion of
one wing to the Indian Post and Telegraph Department. With the approval of the U.K.
High Commissioner in New Delhi (to whom I was technically subordinate bo), and with
some pressure from his deputy who came to Karachi to assist, we eventually persuaded the
Board of the Chamber of Commerce to lease the remainder of their building to the British
Government as the office of the U.K. High Commissioner designate. The premises would of
course require extensive modification, but my friend Browne assured me that this would be
no problem once we could get our hands on it. We did not however succeed in acquiring
the entire building; the Post and Telegraphs Department refused to relinguish their
lease, and remained in occupation. Later on, after partition, their presence led to
misgivings on the part of the British Security Services. The fact was that the U.K.
office had to be equipped with diplomatic wireless communication with England, and they
did not wish to run the risk of this link being compromised. Eventually, thanks to the
co-operation of a number of well disposed British Officials in the Sind Government
Secretariat, we prevailed upon them to allocate to us the house of the Collector of
Karachi for occupation as the official Residence of the U.K. High Commissioner. This
was a major triumph; the house itself, though probably too small for its purpose, was
reasonably presentable, and was surrounded by a well-kept garden opposite the Gymkhana
Club in the best residential part of the city. This was not all, for the same people
also managed - before they left - to arrange for the High Commission to rent from the
successors of the Sind Government a modern house divided into two semi-detached units
for occupation by the next two senior officials of the High Commission, namely the
Deputy High Commissioner and the Senior Trade Commissioner. Little by little, we
found and signed up other accommodation - a large rambling house divisible into three
units for married First Secretaries (I myself was one of these) in Mary Road, and
another rather run-down edifice for the Military Advisor in the suburb of Clifton,
where the Pakistan Government finally located their own Foreign Office. For junior
Secretarial staff, who would eventually arrive from England, I managed to persuade the
Palace Hotel to place at our disposal a row of rooms with bathrooms in one of their
annexes.
But accommodation was only one aspect of my work. I was under instructions to recruit
locally amongst the British ladies of Karachi for suitable individuals su^h as sec
retaries and clerical staff. Here I was more successful; a number of excellent young
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ladies and married women joined us as temporaries, and the majority of these served
the High Commission most loyally and efficiently during its formative years. I also
bought a number of motor vehicles, recruiting ex-Indian Army soldiers as chauffeurs.