Department of State

                                                            

                                                                    TELEGRAM

                                                                                           

                                                                     SECRET 800

 

 

 

ISLAMA 10987 041306 Z

42

ACTION SS-25

INFO OCT-01 SSO-00 CCO-00 NSCE-00 /026 W

 .................................................................................. 018319

0 R 040926 Z NOV 71

FM AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD

TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1336 INFO AMCONSUL KARACHI AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI AMCONSUL DACCA

AMCONSUL LAHORE SECRET ISLAMABAD 10987 EXDIS

DEPT. PASS OT OTHER POSTS AS APPROPRIATE

SUBJ : PAKISTANI DELEGATES' FORTHCOMING VISIT TO PEKING

REF : ISLAMABAD 10936 (NOTAL)

 

1. SUMMARY, General Gul Hasan and Rear Admiral Rashid included in Pak delegation on Nov. 5 trip to Peking. Purpose of trip solely for morale boost in Pakistan. U.S. should so inform GOI. Foreign Secretary desires to visit Washington soon after return from Peking. END SUMMARY.

2. At Foreign Secretary Sultan Khan's request I met with him at his residence at 1800 hrs. Nov. 3. During the 45-minute conversation which followed, among other matters which were topics of comment and which will be reported by septets, the subject of a delegation of Pakistanis visiting Peking on Nov.5 was discussed.

3. The Foreign Secretary said that the forthcoming visit by a high level Pak delegation to Peking, which was the subject of a conversation between the President and myself (reported in reftel) would be announced very shortly. He said that, in addition to those individuals whom the President had told me would make up the delegation, two additional names had been added, i.e. Gen. Gul Hasan and Chief of Staff of the Navy Rashid Ahmad. Also accompanying will be a representative group of Foreign Office working staff and military subordinates.

4. The Foreign Secretary pointed out that the trip, in addition to maintaining contact with the Chinese in both military and political field, was conceived primarily for the purpose of QTE bucking up the people of Pakistan and giving them a greater feeling of confidence than they now enjoy UNQTE. He dwelt at some length on this

theme, concluding by emphasizing the fact that nothing sinister or arcane should be read into this particular action, and that the only additional thing which GOP sought from China was a public statement of support. The Foreign Secretary added that he did not expect the Chinese to go any further than they had gone in their earlier statement, but a reiteration of that statement, he felt, would be salutary at this juncture.

5. The Foreign secretary then went on to say that after the trip, which will last only a few days, he will return to Islamabad for the purpose of QTE doing my homework UNQTE and then, if the Department of State is agreeable, he urgently desires to arrive Washington on or about Nov. 11 for talks at a high level in the State Department, and also to go to New York to meet with U Thant. He said his purpose for this was two-fold: (a) To give to State QTE at first hand UNQTE all of his impressions evoloving from his conversations with the Chinese and a variety of subjects which he planned to bring up during his stay in Peking, and (b) to learn by personal inquiry rather than from Embassy reports all possible facts and nuances which were outgrowth of Mrs. Indira Gandhi's visit to Washington, her attitude towards Pakistan as well as her feelings concerning the issue of war or peace.

6. The Foreign Secretary concluded this aspect of our conversation by saying that Pres. Yahya was anxious that Washington be fully advised as to the purpose of the Peking trip in order that Mrs. Gandhi could be reassured, coincident with the announcement of the trip.

7. FYI. At 2030 hrs. Also on Nov.3, I met with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who, among other things, informed me that he had met with Pres.Yahya in the morning, and had been persuded to join the Pak delegation going to China. The Foreign secretary obviously had to be aware of this fact, and why he did not advise me thereof is minor mystery. I am reporting Bhutto's conversation with me in septel (Islamabad 10988). End FYI.

8. COMMENT: I sincerely hope that the Department can accommodate Sultan Khan's request: the reasons are obvious. Please advise me soonest. GP-2

 

FARLAND

 

 

Source:  The American Papers – Secret and Confidential India.Pakistan.Bangladesh Documents 1965-1973, University Press Limited, p.701-702