The Reminiscences of Zafrulla Khan — Page 241
225 REMINISCENCES OF SIR MUHAMMAD ZAFRULLA KHAN Permanent Representative of Pakistan toward the Pakistani delegation. Can you describe the kind of feelings which you had there ? Zafrulla : My delegation were occasionally unhappy, not acutely I hope, that though I had not laid down any barriers between them and myself - as a matter of fact, I always attended my office here in Pakistan House in the morning for two or two and a half hours before I went down to the Assembly - yet they had a natural feeling of restraint in discussing with me matters that fell within the purview of the Presidency. The nomination of members to certain committees was left to me and I knew the desire of my delegation that Pakistan should be nominated to this or that committee; but I made it absolutely clear that my being President in a way disqualified Pakistan for anything to which I had the nomination. So, they could not get onto either of the two committees which they regarded as very important, to which the nomination was to be solely mine; but they did slip through onto what was known as the Working Group on the financial questions, for though the nomination was by me the Chairman of the Fifth Committee, to whom this group pertained, while sending me the resolution for the expansion of that group by the addition of six more members, also sent me the names of the six countries which the committee desired should be nominated. So I was left with no choice, and as Pakistan's name was included in that list, that is how it got in. I found nomination to the other committees a much more difficult business than any other thing I had to do as President. Everybody wanted to get onto the Committee of Seventeen, which was to be expanded to a Committee of Twenty-four, and almost nobody wanted to get on to any other committee, because whenever I made an approach I was told, "Well, this, we are not interested in," or something to that effect. In the end I was able somehow to set up the committee and I believe they have done very well. But this is part of the day's work; you have to take on responsibility and you have got to make decisions. On one or two occasions, individual members of my delegation came and told me something that they had learned that might arise in the Assembly, but that was quite fair. But my delegation did not try to influence me on anything one way or the other. Some others did, and as I have said that is quite legitimate; that is, if they feel the President has a view with which they differ and that it would be of some advantage to them that he should know their view, and if possible