Office of the Historian

300. Memorandum of a Conversation Between the Deputy Director of the Office of South Asian Affairs (Meyer) and the Chief Delegate of Pakistan to the SEATO Council Meeting (Qizilbash), Manila, March 11, 1958, 7:30 p.m.1

Manila, March 11, 1958, 7:30 p.m.

SUBJECT

  • Pakistani Criticisms of U.S.

I spoke with the Pakistani Chief Delegate H. E. Ali Khan Qizilbash about: (a) Pakistan Prime Minister Noon’s reported threats to withdraw from the Baghdad Pact and SEATO and “embrace Communism” unless Pakistan’s hopes re Kashmir and more foreign aid [Page 626] were catered to;2 and (b) Mr. Qizilbash’s two speeches on the opening day of the present SEATO meeting replete with complaints re the inadequacy of (U.S.) aid, particularly when considered in the light of recent U.S. aid to neutralist India.3 Re (a), I indicated that we were quite surprised by Noon’s reported line which was not consonant with the tenor of his conversations with the Secretary and other American officials. Re (b), I asked Mr. Qizilbash what he thought the Government of Pakistan would gain in its efforts for a happy solution to Kashmir and for more foreign assistance by antagonizing its traditional friend, the United States. Noting that his speech emphasized the inadequacies of (U.S.) aid, I asked Mr. Qizilbash to state exactly how much assistance Pakistan is actually receiving from the United States. He was somewhat embarrassed to admit that he had no idea of the extent of U.S. aid and was quite impressed when I informed him that in Mr. Noon’s own words, the United States is supplying almost 40% of the Pakistan Government’s total annual expenditures. I also pointed out that by resorting to demagogic flag-waving for domestic political purposes, both Messrs. Noon and Qizilbash were following a dangerous course, for the wealthy landlord class which they represent would not survive long when the street elements they were inevitably stirring up would take over.

By the end of the rather lengthy and certainly frank discussion, Mr. Qizilbash appeared to be somewhat penitent. We concluded with the greatest of amicability, and he welcomed, apparently sincerely, the frankness of the discussion. At his suggestion, it was agreed that four things would be done:

1)
He would provide us with the complete text of the Noon remarks of March 8;
2)
He would call last night a meeting of his delegation and “rip up” four more speeches which were to have been delivered during the rest of the current SEATO meeting and which would have been in the same vein as those of yesterday;
3)
I would seek to gain an interview for him with the Secretary so that he could explain Pakistan’s faithfulness to us and also its concern that India will cut off its water; and
4)
He would telegraph Mr. Noon to issue a statement correcting the bad impression made by the March 8 remarks.4

  1. Source: Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 989. Confidential. Drafted by Meyer. The source text indicates that the meeting took place at the Filipinas Hotel. Meyer and Qizilbash were in Manila for the fourth SEATO Council Meeting, March 11–13.↩
  2. Noon made those threats in a speech on March 8 before the Pakistani National Assembly. Copies of the Prime Minister’s speech were transmitted to the Department of State in despatch 806 from Karachi, March 12. (Ibid., Central Files, 690D.00/3–1258)↩
  3. The texts of Qizilbash’s speeches are ibid., Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 981.↩
  4. A summary of this conversation was transmitted to the Department in Secto 37 from Manila, March 13. (Ibid., Conference Files, CF 99D)↩