Telegram
From the Consulate General in
/1/
Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1970-73, POL 27 INDIA-PAK. Secret; Priority; Exdis. Repeated to
1184. From the Ambassador. Subj:
President Yahya's Observations on
/2/
Document 49.
1. I met
President Yahya Khan at President's house in Karachi,
Saturday, May 22 at 1830 to present him President Nixon' s letter of May 7./3/
During hour and half conversation which ensued I discussed with Yahya, among other subjects which are reported by
septel,/4/ the political situation within Pakistan and his plans with regard
thereto.
/3/
Document 41.
/4/ Farland's discussion with Yahya
about economic assistance to
2. I
stated that President Nixon sincerely welcomed the opportunity he had had last
October to discuss
3.
Speaking frankly, I said the first necessity was to stop the shooting and to
start the rebuilding. The Embassy's impression of
4. I said
my government had observed with interest the outcome of a political settlement
which was sketched to us by Mr. M.M. Ahmad and Foreign Secretary Sultan Khan;
of greater continuing interest, however, is how he (Yahya)
gauged the prospects for success of this approach. Also, it was noted that to
date very few Awami Leaguers had associated
themselves with the government side. Also in question was how the GOP would
deal with Sheikh Mujib; that would have an effect on
the government's efforts to gain support of former Awami
Leaguers and on the prospects for accommodation with the East. I asked who
could fill gap in early political accommodation in Mujib's
absence. I then posed to Yahya the question that if
the majority of Awami Leaguers proved unwilling to
join, where would Yahya turn next?
5. In
6.
President Yahya said that he, too, had welcomed the
opportunity last October to discuss the problems of
7.
Interspersed throughout this portion of the conversation, President Yahya repeatedly attempted to defend the action of the GOP
in "putting down an overt secessionist movement." And I with equal
persistence tried to stop him by pointing out as I had done earlier, that
judgment of the events of the past would rest with the historians; rather, my
government's interest lay in the present and in the future and was directed to
the needs of the people of Pakistan and the assistance which the United States
could bring thereto. Yahya reiterated with emphasis
that law and order was the first prerequisite to the reinstitution of a
peaceful political accommodation; that rebuilding had to begin with a prompt
cessation soonest of military action; and, that this was his objective. He
acknowledged my thesis that fear had to be dispelled and public confidence
restored. He was optimistic that this could be accomplished within a time frame
of several months which would allow both for political accommodation and
economic rehabilitation.
8. In
answer to my observations and my stated interest in knowing more detailed
aspects of how and when political accommodation could be accomplished, Yahya said he intended to go to the people via radio and
television sometime next month. He said that he would use these media for the
purpose of explaining in detail his plans for reinstitution of his efforts to
transfer power and to remove the military apparatus as the dominant force in
the national life of
9. When
pressed as to the how and when, President Yahya said
it was his plan to hold a by-election in East Pakistan for those provincial and
National Assembly seats, and those seats only, which were vacated by Awami Leaguers who had departed East Pakistan for India and
elsewhere in the cause of Bangla Desh,
or who had committed capital crimes during the period leading up to and
subsequent to the secession attempt. Of the number of seats which would be
vacated, President Yahya said he felt that no more
than six or seven percent would be involved, and that it would be relatively a
simple matter to hold an election for these few seats. He reaffirmed the fact
that while the Awami League had been outlawed, the
individuals had been elected individually and that their election, subject to
the foregoing, would be recognized. President Yahya
added that the election in
10. When I
mentioned again the fact that few Awami Leaguers had
come over to the government position, Yahya said that
he was most certainly not desirous of setting up a "pseudo slate" or
finding a number of quislings to give form rather than substance to the
reinstitution of political accommodation. Acknowledging that but a few names
had yet appeared in the press, President Yahya said that a "substantial number" had
privately already indicated their desire to join with the GOP's efforts to
formulate what amounted to a six-point program for
11. As to
the time frame he invisioned, President Yahya said that it was his hope that the bi-elections in
12. After
several abortive attempts I reintroduced the question of how the GOP would deal
with Sheik Mujib. President Yahya
said that as far as he was concerned Sheikh Mujib had
committed a capital crime and would be tried in a duly constitutional court,
and he would be given a fair and impartial trial. After noting that in the
President's last address to the people of Pakistan it appeared to me as a
lawyer that Sheikh Mujib had already been prejudged,
and that a change of venue was impossible, I emphasized the fact that the GOP
might well weigh world opinion vis-ˆ-vis the severity
of the sentence since Sheikh Mujib had a great deal
international sympathy attaining. Yahya reply was
noncommittal but not necessarily negative. He indicated that he would think
about it.
13. In concluding
the discussion of the political situation, I mentioned the references in
President Nixon's letter to opposition in some
Luppi