Office of the Historian

524. Telegram From the Embassy in Pakistan to the Department of State1

Rawalpindi, November 16, 1968, 1445Z.

9454. From Ambassador. Ref: State 272942.2

1.
At lunch today I handed President Ayub, Foreign Minister Arshad and Presidential Advisor Fida Hassan a letter3 patterned after the appropriate parts of my May 9 letter to Defense Minister, and strongly stating secrecy requirement. Copy being pouched.
2.
Additionally, I stated orally that during past several months there had been reports of Pak acquisition of additional tanks from USSR and/or ChiComs, that reports had been source of concern to us and that both in connection with a Turkish transaction and the Conte-Symington amendments we would need to know the validity of those rumors.
3.
Ayub responded that they had no agreement with ChiComs re arms and that the only lethal items being acquired from USSR were “ammunition, spare parts and things like that.”
4.
Ayub then said that he had understood that there were to be 200 tanks.
5.
I responded that in March we had indicated to them that, subject to certain conditions, we were prepared to approve third country sale of “100 tanks now and 100 later”—that the word “later” had not been defined and that there was no longer time to work out the details of the first 100 and tackle the problem of the second 100 before our change of administration so that the question of the second 100 would have to be taken up with the new administration.
6.
Ayub then asked what the price of the tanks would be. I told him that, except for our residual value, the matter was between GOP and GOT.
7.
He showed a marked reluctance to bargain with Turkey, taking the position that US really owned the tanks, that they had no value over and above our residual, and that, that should be the price.
8.
I said that as I saw the procedure his and the GOT military should identify a particular 100 tanks, we would appraise their residual value, and that the price, if any, over and above that would be a matter of negotiation between GOP and GOT.
9.
He seemed unhappy about that and the meeting ended with his comment that they would consider my letter and give me a reply.
10.
At no point was any question raised about any of the conditions restated from the May 9 letter.
11.
Would appreciate ASAP:
A.
Re our transfer of 48s to GOT do they pay us anything? Previous telegrams make clear only that rehabilitation cost will not be passed on;
B.
Is GOT expecting to charge a higher price than residual value;
C.
Under present proposal do we keep residual value or pass it on to GOT?
Oehlert
  1. Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1967–69, DEF 12–5 PAK. Secret; Immediate; Exdis. Repeated to Karachi.↩
  2. Telegram 272942 to Rawalpindi, November 16, authorized Oehlert to tell Ayub that the United States and Turkey had agreed in principle on the sale of 100 M–47 tanks by Turkey to Pakistan. Oehlert was instructed to point out that final approval of the sale was dependent upon Pakistan’s acceptance of the conditions set forth in Oehlert’s May 9 letter to Admiral Khan. (Ibid.)↩
  3. Not found.↩