Pakistani diplomats in Washington court Soviets on the sly

Vajpayee with Shahi : An act of diplomatic legerdemainEven as the Reagan Administration considers bold new plans to forge a new arms alliance with Pakistan, Pakistani diplomats in Washington are simultaneously courting the Soviets on the sly.According to reliable informants, Pakistani officials have met on several occasions this year with the Soviet Union's Washington Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin in an effort to cement new ties between the two countries. Specifically, the Pakistanis are seeking Soviet assistance to prod the Afghan as well as the Indian government to recognise the Durand Line and thereby defuse the sensitive issue of Pushtoon separatism.In return, Pakistan is prepared to adopt a much softer line on the presence of Soviet troops in Afghanistan. How Pakistan will reconcile a bilateral detente with the Soviet Union with a new supply of American ; :ms designed to shore up Pakistan as America's ally against Soviet expansionism in Afghanistan and in the Persian Gulf remains to be seen. If Pakistan can pull it off it will be a remarkable act of diplomatic legerdemain. Pakistan will be able to obtain American arms in the name of defending its northern flank against Soviet designs and then transfer these armaments to its eastern border with India where most of its troops are stationed. The northern flank would be secured through a political accommodation with Moscow.Pakistan's diplomatic success has depended on its ability to play the two superpowers off against each other while playing the game of "America's loyal but betrayed ally" to the hilt. American policy-makers have continued to regard Pakistan as the only guarantor of western interests in south Asia, notwithstanding Pakistan's sabotage of the sea to treaty when it formed close ties with China in the late 1950s, the expulsion of America's U-2 bases, and Pakistan's massive arms accords with the Soviets between 1965 and 1969.Play Ball: More recently the Pakistanis showed the Soviets they are willing to play ball by taking the initiative to water down the language of the recent Islamic summit resolution calling for the expulsion of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. And Pakistan has made no effort to disguise its feeling that the American obsession with Afghanistan served to divert the Islamic World's attention from the PLO issue.According to top secret information, Pakistan and the Soviet Union began talking in earnest about improving relations in 1978 at a time when Pakistan was supposed to have been quaking with fear over the presence of Soviet troops in Afghanistan. The information was passed to the CIA and State Department in a candid briefing by Pakistan's then Washington Ambassador Yaqub Khan. According to secret notes of this meeting: Soviet Ambassador Dobrynin approached Yaqub Khan and "suggested the time had come to expand Soviet-Pakistani relations. Yaqub Khan agreed ' with Dobrynin. Pakistan's Foreign Minister Agha Shahi went to Moscow in August 1978 and "talked to the Soviets about improved relations and about Pakistan becoming non-aligned. Moscow gave Shahi strong encouragement."Yaqub Khan was described as "a former general officer with an intelligence background, urbane, soft-spoken, but intense. He made his points very politely but positively. He left no doubt that he personally had great admiration and friendly feelings towards the US. He also made it clear that he had gloomy forebodings and felt that things in the Persian Gulf-Indian Ocean arena might go badly for the Free World with which he associated Pakistan."Khan said that despite repeated promises of US support for Pakistan "against Indian aggression" by such US dignitaries as President Kennedy, Secretary of State Rusk, and Ambassador Harriman, the US never carried out its commitments to Pakistan... Pakistan needs a certain amount of military equipment to give it a credible posture of military capability versus India. 'Islamabad' is not under the illusion it can challenge New Delhi but it wishes to present a reasonable military posture so that it will not be considered a 'pushover' by a Soviet-armed India.Worried: Ironically, while American Intelligence officials were reporting on Pakistan's impending accommodation with Moscow, they also pointed out that India was more seriously worried about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan than it was willing to admit in public. American Intelligence based this conclusion after monitoring a meeting in September 1978 between Foreign Minister Vajpayee arid Afghanistan's new leaders Taraki and Amin. The Vajpayee visit to Kabul, as reported by American Intelligence, offers some fascinating insights: The Afghan Government went out of its way to project the visit as a major achievement of the new regime. The Afghan leaders repeatedly emphasised that the April revolution was "entirely indigenous" and that the Government would pursue a non-aligned policy.On international issues the Afghan position was "in line with and at times more radical than that of the Socialist bloc". The Pushtoonistan and Baluchistan issues concerned these leaders greatly. Most of them hail from Pushtu-speaking areas. The new leaders have tried to appoint political commissars at various points in the armed forces to prevent coups from both right and left. American Intelligence claims that it received some further information on Vajpayee's visit to Kabul from yet "another reliable Indian source". This reliable source told the Americans: "Afghan Foreign Minister Amin referred to Iran and Pakistan as 'bastions of imperialism,' whose disintegration will be in the interest of progressive forces."Kabul has warned both countries to stay out of the Afghan scene. With its mighty 'Soviet friend' Kabul can create trouble for Iran and Pakistan. Amin predicted that Iranian military officers will revolt against the Shah. The US will supply arms to Pakistan, and this is not in the interests of India and Pakistan. Amin also berated China, criticised the non-aligned movement, and said Kabul supports autonomy for Baluchistan and Pushtoonistan.American Intelligence noted: "As a result of these harangues, the Indian Foreign Ministry is convinced there are irrevocable differences in policy between the Indian and Afghan governments. New Delhi also believes Kabul has irrevocably aligned itself with the Soviets. These reports reveal a growing Indian awakening to what the new regime in Kabul really represents. Publicly, India continues a bland, non-critical position toward Afghanistan."Published By: AtMigration Published On: Nov 22, 2013 10:18 IST--- ENDS ---

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Pakistani diplomats in Washington court Soviets on the sly

Even as the Reagan Administration considers bold new plans to forge a new arms alliance with Pakistan, Pakistani diplomats in Washington are simultaneously courting the Soviets on the sly.

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