Ian Talbot speaks at the South Asia Seminar on 21 November 2017
The paper examines the roles of three influential heads of the British High Commission in Pakistan’s early post-independence history, Sir Gilbert Laithwaite (1951-4), Sir Alexander Symon (1954-61) and Sir Morrice James (1961-5). In particular it reveals the ways in which they undertook the important tasks of political reporting, mediating in the Indo-Pakistan conflict and protecting British interests at times of civil and regional conflict.