NEW DELHI: Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan has described his rejection of Pakistan in 1946 as `rejection of the communal spirit` and implied that he is not a Pakistani. The `Hindustan Times` of Delhi quotes Khan as having told its London representative in a recent interview: `Pathans have their own language, their own culture and traditions. Hence, they want to live as Pathans.

Our demand is that Pathan areas should be united.` He then significantly added: `We are brethren of the Pakistanis` implying thereby that he is not Pakistani.

Replying to a question whether or not he regretted his boycott of the 1947 referendum on the ground that his participation might have tilted the verdict in favour of India, the Khan said: `We had already successfully fought the 1946 election on the Pakistan issue. We had rejected the communal spirit.` About his association with the late Gandhi, he said when the Congress leader `asked me if we would accept the principle of non-violence and join the freedom movement, I whole-heartedly agreed`. He, however, added: `I cannot deny that there are some people who have now started questioning the efficiency of non-violence under a rule which they say is unconstitutional and is not law-abiding.`-Agencies