Office of the Historian

125. Memorandum of a Conversation, Parliament House, Canberra, March 11, 1957, 6 p.m.1

USDel/MC/5
March 11, 1957, 6 p.m.

PARTICIPANTS

  • The United States
    • The Secretary
    • Mr. Reinhardt
    • Mr. Withers
  • The Government of Pakistan
    • Mr. Amjad Ali

SUBJECT

  • Afghanistan; Kashmir; Middle East

Mr. Amjad Ali called, at his request, on the Secretary to give to the latter two documents, one concerning Burma and the other Afghanistan.2 Inasmuch as the Secretary had already seen the document [Page 249] on Afghanistan Mr. Amjad Ali retained it. A copy of the document on Burma is attached.

The Finance Minister stated that the Government of Pakistan was quite concerned over the situation in Afghanistan. The GOP had information that Soviet agents were active among the tribes in the Frontier, including those on the Pakistan side. The GOP feels that the situation is quite dangerous. The Secretary queried the Finance Minister on the payments to the tribes, traditional from British days and the Finance Minister said that they were paying the tribes exactly what the British had paid them and in addition they were building schools and roads in the area and giving other economic assistance, including a dam at Warsak, in which project the Canadians are helping. The Secretary remarked that our information indicated that the Government of Afghanistan is not pro-Communist. As a matter of fact they appeared to be most interested in the President’s Middle East Plan and may ask us for assurances under the Plan. The Secretary added he was not certain we could give them such assurances; that this would be stretching the Middle East very far. Amjad Ali said that the GOP had done almost everything it could to better relations with Afghanistan, but so far their efforts had been in vain. They had tried to discuss the transit problem with Prime Minister Daud, but that his only reply was that before he could discuss the transit problem the matter of Pushtoonistan would have to be settled. Ali said that they were willing to take any steps even though there was divided opinion within the GOP. Some of the members of the government felt that if concessions were made it might lead the Afghans to believe that Pakistan was weakening. The predominant opinion, however, was that the GOP should do everything it could. They were considering a reduction on freight rates and in the past had furnished emergency wheat and cement to Afghanistan at the latter’s request.

[Here follows discussion of recent developments in Kashmir and the Middle East.]

  1. Source: Department of State, Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 64 D 199. Secret. Drafted by Withers. The Secretary was in Canberra for the third SEATO Council meeting, held March 11–13.↩
  2. The document concerning Afghanistan has not been found in Department of State files. The document regarding Burma is not printed.↩