Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume XIX, South Asia

45. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Afghanistan⁰

Washington, September 17, 1961, 2:30 p.m.

113. Please deliver following message to the King,¹ reporting time and date of delivery:

“September 17, 1961. Your Majesty: I cannot but be deeply concerned over the break in diplomatic relations which has resulted from the recent exchange of notes between Your Majesty’s Government and the Government of Pakistan. As a friend I am distressed to know that Your Majesty’s efforts to bring the fruits of progress and freedom to your people may be seriously curtailed, and that the United States efforts to be of assistance may be severely hampered.

While I realize that a variety of factors is involved in the present tensions between the Royal Government of Afghanistan and the Government of Pakistan, I wish to take the liberty of expressing the view that if the normal flow of traffic between Afghanistan and Pakistan were to be resumed under the existing transit agreement, an immediate source of tensions might be removed. As Prime Minister Daud and Prince Naim have been informed by Ambassador Byroade, we have received assurances from the Pakistan authorities of their desire to maintain the flow of traffic to and from Afghanistan under the transit agreement. This to me is an element of hope.

As Your Majesty knows, the shipment of equipment and materials through Pakistan is essential to the continuation of United States aid projects in Afghanistan and to the planning of future projects.² I therefore venture to inquire whether Your Majesty will be willing to take steps to permit the resumption of shipments from Pakistan to Afghanistan.³ It is my understanding that this can be accomplished if Your Majesty’s Government adopts measures to provide incoming vehicles with the necessary documentation. In this connection I should like to reaffirm the offer of good offices made to Your Majesty’s Government through Ambassador Byroade, and to underline my desire to provide practical assistance in working out the transit problem.

I earnestly hope that Your Majesty will take steps to continue the operation of the transit agreement—a move which I would hope might pave the way for improvement in relations between Your Majesty’s Government and the Government of Pakistan. This would be in keeping with the call being made to many of us in these critical days to resolve differences through patience, negotiation and peaceful purpose.

Please be assured, Your Majesty, of my deepest personal interest in the solution of this problem and in the well-being of the Afghan people.

Respectfully yours,

John F. Kennedy”

President plans no publicity of this letter. Department believes in interests of progress on problem no publicity desirable.

Rusk

0. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 689.90D/9-1761. Secret; Niact. Drafted and approved by Meyer and cleared by Weil, by Bowles in substance, and by Bromley Smith at the White House. Repeated to Karachi.
1. In telegram 213 from Kabul, September 18, the Embassy proposed three amendments to the letter, to prevent it from having a “deleterious rather than benefical effect.” (Ibid., 689.90D/9-1861) The Department accepted two of the proposed amendments, as noted in footnotes 2-3 below. It did not approve a revision of the last sentence in the third paragraph to make reference to exploring possible additional transit routes. Such a change, the Department concluded, might have the effect of raising false hopes. (Telegram 116 to Kabul, September 18; ibid.)
2. The first sentence of this paragraph was changed to read: “As Your Majesty knows, vast quantities of equipment and materials essential to the continuation of US aid projects in Afghanistan have been and are being shipped to Pakistan.”
3. The last clause of this sentence was changed to read: “to take steps to permit the movement of these shipments through Pakistan to Afghanistan.”