Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, his brother Dr Khan Sahib and other leaders of Khudai Khidmatgar movement demanded that the NWFP should be granted independence as a separate state under the nomenclature of Pakhtunistan. As the province was being ruled at that time by the Congress government of Dr Khan Sahib, it was decided by the British government to hold a referendum to ascertain the will of the people whether they wanted to remain with India or accept the merger of their province with Pakistan.
Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan objected to this proposal on the plea that the NWFP assembly was not consulted on this issue like other assemblies. He demanded that under the referendum the people of NWFP should be asked to choose between an independent state of Pakhtunistan or decide about the merger of the province with Pakistan. However, the British did not accept that proposal and held the referendum on the merger of NWFP with India or Pakistan in which a majority voted for Pakistan.
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