Office of the Historian

66. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Pakistan1

Washington, November 9, 1957—3:08 p.m.

1200. Ref Deptel 403 to USUN2 rptd London 3217 New Delhi 1183 Karachi 1114. Deliver following message from President to Prime Minister Chundrigar:

“Dear Prime Minister: Thank you for your message of October 29 dealing with the Kashmir issue in the Security Council.

The Secretary of State has kept me informed of the course of the discussions over the past several months and at present between our representatives. These discussions were fully taken into account in arriving at this Government’s position as outlined in the United States representative’s recent speech in the Security Council.3 Our entire position, however, has again been reviewed in the light of your message. In view of the report before the Security Council submitted by the Swedish representative on that body, our already announced position and the views of other members of the Security Council, it seems certain that the Council cannot avoid some reference in its resolution to the present status of the cease-fire order.

However, I fully believe that, if the Council does adopt a position in accordance with that outlined by our representative, such action will constitute a definite step forward. I wish to assure you that I shall follow the developments on the Kashmir dispute in the Security Council with continuing deep interest and with trust that any progress toward ultimate solution of the problem cannot but be welcome to both Pakistan and India.

The basic objective of the Government of the United States remains, as always, a just and peaceful solution of a problem of such [Page 152] importance to the future of the Subcontinent. In the absence of a solution through direct negotiations, I believe that the only constructive course of action lies in the implementation of the Security Council’s basic resolutions. This I feel certain is in accordance with your own Government’s objectives. Sincerely, Dwight D. Eisenhower.”

Herter
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 690D.91/11–957. Secret; Priority; Presidential Handling. Drafted by Soulen, cleared with Goodpaster and Fisher Howe, and approved by Christian A. Herter, Acting Secretary of State. Repeated to London, New Delhi, and USUN.↩
  2. In telegram 403, November 1, the Department transmitted the text of a letter from Prime Minister Chundrigar to President Eisenhower, dated October 29. Chundrigar had sent an identical message to British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. The Pakistani Prime Minister objected to certain aspects of a U.S.-British draft resolution which was then being circulated among Council members. (Ibid., 690D.91/11–157) The resolution, jointly sponsored by Australia, Colombia, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States, was subsequently introduced in the Council in its original form on November 22 by U.S. Deputy Representative James J. Wadsworth. It called upon Graham to make any recommendations to the Council which he considered desirable in connection with his previous reports, the UNCIP resolution of August 13, 1948, and the Jarring report, with a view toward reaching in particular an agreement on reduction of forces to a specific number on each side of the cease-fire line. The resolution further called for both India and Pakistan to cooperate with Graham by formulating an early agreement on demilitarization procedures which should be implemented within three months of such an agreement being reached. (U.N. doc. S/3911)↩
  3. The text of this speech, delivered by Wadsworth, is in U.N. doc. S/PV. 797, October 25, 1957.↩