462. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Pakistan1
51282. Following were main elements meeting between President and Pakistan Foreign Minister Pirzada,2 October 5. Ambassador Hilaly, Mr. Walt Rostow, and Handley were present.
Pirzada began meeting by saying that President Ayub had asked him to convey warm greetings to the President. The President replied that he hoped Pirzada would remember him to President Ayub for whom he had great admiration.
[Page 899]In response to President’s question about the situation in UN, Pirzada said on the Near East question he had found things settling down and that situation was far less “agitated” than it was at summer session ESSGA. He thought that a solution was now possible. He said that Ayub had done his best to persuade the Arabs to make a settlement and he believed that most of the Arab countries were now willing to accept the resolution worked out between the U.S. and the Soviets. Everyone was now looking to U.S. He thought that a solution would be entirely possible if something could be done about the refugees and Jerusalem. He said that Pakistan, as a Moslem nation, had very special interest in Jerusalem question. When pressed as to what kind of status he envisaged, he replied that it should be the same as it was on June 4, even though this meant the city would be split. He thought that arrangements could be worked out for access to Jewish holy places. They had found in Moscow that the Soviets were prepared to continue to support the resolution they had discussed with the USG if this were satisfactory to the Arabs.
The President noted that he had heard about the good economic progress being made in Pakistan and wondered if this were continuing. Pirzada replied that they were proud of their economic development and very grateful for assistance given by the U.S. which had made this progress possible. He said that construction of Tarbela, which is now insured by U.S. support, will go a long way to making Pakistan prosperous. He thanked President for his decision to send a team to study Pakistan’s watershed problems. The President said that we were pleased to help Pakistan since we were very fond of their people.
Pirzada said that the dedication of the Mangla Dam would take place on November 23 and he hoped the USG would accept the GOP’s invitation to send a high level delegation to it. He said that GOP was very pleased with the performance of the American contractor, the Guy F. Atkinson Company, and noted that this company was now bidding for construction of Tarbela.
In response to question on Indo/Pak relations, Pirzada said there can be no relief from tension until the Kashmir hurdle is removed. Kashmir, he said, was considered non-negotiable by the Indians. Meanwhile, the situation in Kashmir had become very serious, with riots taking place and with repression and cruelty being inflicted on people of Kashmir. Every effort should be made to try to bring India to the conference table on Kashmir. The President noted that it would be indeed wonderful if the Kashmir question could be solved. In commenting on post-Tashkent contacts with India, Pirzada did not attribute much importance to the reported upcoming telecommunications meeting. He said there had been a lot of foot dragging on the part of the Indians and that the meeting would be simply to ratify points that had been earlier agreed to by experts on each side. He noted that up to [Page 900] now there had been no firm decision on the delegations since the Indians had delayed for three months in working out the details, but nevertheless he felt sure that the meeting would take place.
The President said that we were very pleased with the reductions in the Pakistan defense budget. Pirzada said that has not been easy since India has increased its budget and is buying submarines, tanks, and sophisticated weapons. That is why, he said, Ayub had gone to Moscow. He had told the Soviets that if they wanted peace in the subcontinent they must stop shipment of sophisticated weapons.
The President and Pirzada briefly discussed the fighting between India and Communist China on the Sikkim border and agreed that at this stage it seemed “inconsequential”.
In discussing other aspects of Ayub’s visit to Moscow, Pirzada said that Kosygin had been greatly impressed with his visit to the U.S. and his talks with the President. In answer to a question from the President about what the Soviets had said on Viet Nam, Pirzada replied that the Soviets had the impression that if the bombing were stopped, negotiations might take place. The President commented that this was just an impression.
In discussing the food situation Rostow mentioned that he had had a talk with Finance Minister Uquaili the day before regarding commercial purchases of U.S. grain. Hilaly said that Pakistan was in a tight foreign exchange position and would be very reluctant to make additional commercial purchases. Rostow then said that, in all candor, he had to explain the difficult budget and fiscal situation facing the President. He understood their difficulties but the President’s problem is also very serious and that at a time when he might be considering the possibility of cutting down on school lunch programs in the U.S., it would be difficult for the American public to understand why additional commercial purchases by Pakistan were not possible.
As the meeting ended, Pirzada said that Ayub had asked him to thank the President for the sale of spare parts for the Pakistan Air Force. Ayub had also asked him to remind the President that Pakistan had made an official request to purchase replacements for aircraft and tanks. The President said that this request was under study, that we were anxious to help but that he had grave difficulties with the Congress on the question of military supplies. He pointed out that even today the Senate and House conferees on MAP had not been able to reach a decision and he was very uncertain as to what the outcome would be. Pirzada then added that Pakistan’s request for purchase of spares for the Army had not yet moved. Handley expressed some surprise at this and agreed to look into it.
- Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1967–69, POL 7 PAK. Secret; Limdis. Drafted by Handley on October 6. Cleared by Spain and Hamilton (White House) and approved by Handley. Repeated to New Delhi, London, USUN, and Moscow.↩
- Pirzada visited the United States October 5–6. A summary of his meeting with Rusk on October 6 was transmitted to Rawalpindi in telegram 49679, October 6. (Ibid.)↩