Karachi Embassy files, lot 59 F 4

Memorandum of Conversation, by the Ambassador in Pakistan ( Hildreth )

top secret

Participants:

  • Ghulam Mohammed, Governor General of Pakistan
  • The Vice President of the United States
  • The Ambassador

The Governor General talked mostly about the military aid question, stating it was absurd to think of Pakistan attacking India with 40 [Page 1832] million Muslims in India and indicated Nehru did not believe Pakistan would ever attack India. The Governor General said that if aid were granted he would personally fly to New Delhi to visit Nehru as an old friend and re-assure him on any fears he might have of the intent of Pakistan in its use of military equipment. The Governor General referred to a frank talk he had had with Nehru’s sister in New York in which, I gathered, he and the sister agreed Nehru was very stupid on the subject of Communism and the Governor General at least felt that the sister was much more realistic.

I believe the Governor General said his visit to Turkey assured him that Turkey was anxious to enter into an alliance with Pakistan but that the Governor General had said it was premature and that first military aid should be granted directly to Pakistan. Personally I got the impression that the Governor General wanted the strength of a direct agreement between U.S. and Pakistan to strengthen his bargaining position with Turkey when the time came to enter into an agreement with Turkey. I think that the Governor General put it on the ground that he had nothing to talk about that was of any use to Turkey until he was assured of military assistance by the U.S., but that once assured of that military assistance, he thought he could be very helpful in bringing Iran into an agreement and could go further by being helpful in lining up support of Saudi Arabia because the new King of Saudi Arabia was a very good friend of his. He made it clear this was not a promise as far as Saudi Arabia was concerned but a possibility.

I believe he expressed the opinion that Nehru would be angry if aid were granted but it would principally blow over in three or four months and he doubted that even Nehru was ready to tie up with Russia or China out of pique.

The Governor General made the point that delay by the U.S. in giving military aid to Pakistan would make Nehru more difficult to deal with on the Kashmir issue. The Governor General also emphasized that were the U.S. not to grant aid now, especially in view of all the publicity, it would be like taking a poor girl for a walk and then walking out on her, leaving her only with a bad name. Subsequently, it was interesting to find the Prime Minister using the same analogy, which clearly indicates they put their heads together before seeing the Vice President and me.

He also emphasized to the Vice President that a certain amount of firmness was necessary when governing and that though a peaceful man, when the time came to be firm he believed in being firm. Query: How far this may reflect intimations he received when in Washington?