SENATE

92D CoONRSS
1st

s, ion

Calendar No. 105

REPORT

No. 92-105

SUSPENSION OF MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO PAKISTAN

MAY 13,

1971.-Ordered to be printed

Mr. MANSFIELD (for Mr. FETLBRIGT), from the Committee on

Foreign Relations, submitted the following

REPORT
[To accompany S. Con. Res. 21]

The Committee on Foreign Relations, to which was referred the

concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res 21) calling for the suspension of
military assistance to Pakistan, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon with amendments and recommends that the concurrent resolution as amended do pass.
PURPOSE

The purpose of S. Con. Res. 21, as amended, is to express the sense

of the Congress that all American military assistance and licenses for
military sales to Pakistan should be suspended until the conflict ii
East Pakistan is resolved and the distribution of relief supplies in
that area is undertaken.
BACKGROUND

As a result of long standing differences between political factions

in West and East Pakistan, the Pakistan army took control of Dacca,
the capital of East Pakistan, on March 25, 1971. Although all foreign
news correspondents were expelled from East Pakistan, reports received from various sources indicated that the Pakistan army was enoaged in indiscriminate killing of civilians with military equipment
furnished by the United States. Publicly, at the outset at least, State
Department spokesmen said they were unable to confirm that U.S.
military equipment was being used to kill East Pakistanis. It was not
until April 23, 1971, almost a month after the Pakistan army took
control of East Pakistan that a letter was received from the Department of State in response to a Committee inquiry stating that reports
had been received indicating that "some M-24 tanks and F-86 air48-010

craft have been observed iii use in East Pakistan in recent weeks."
This was the first official communication on the subject which was received by the Committee on Foreign Relations. The correspondence
referred to is reprinted in the appendix to this report.
r.S.

MILITARY

ASSISTANCE

PROGRAM

With very few exceptions, the types and amounts of military assistance which" the United States has furnished to the Government of
Pakistan are classified. Nevertheless, it can be said that prior to the
war between India and Pakistan in 1965, American grant military aid
to Pakistan, including military training for thousands of Pakistanis,
amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars. As a result of the IndiaPakistan conflict, in September 1965 the United States placed an embargo on further shipments of military equipment to both countries.
Since that time, however, although the Communist Chinese have been
the main source of arms supplies for Pakistan, the United States has
also furnished certain military equipment to the Pakistanis. For example, in the letter dated April 23, referred to above, it is stated:
Since we terminated MAP grant assistance and suspended
military sales to Pakistan and India in 1965, we have supplied
no lethal end-items to Pakistan. After resuming a limited military sales program to both countries in 1966-67, we have sold
to Pakistan, predominantly for cash, only non-lethal equipment and spare parts and annnition for arms previously
supplied by us. Non-lethal items have included trainer and
transport aircraft; transport equipment such as trucks and
jeeps; and communications, medical and engineering equipment. Ammunition in various calibres for weapons supplied
prior to the embargo in 1965 has comprised less than 15 percent of the total sales program since 1966. We have continued to sell spare parts and ammunition in order to keep previously supplied U.S. equipment operational, in the belief
that to allow this equipment to become inoperative would
compel Pakistan to purchase more expensive and modern replacements, diverting resources from economic development
to defense and fueling an arms race in the Subcontient.
The April 23 letter also states that in October 1970 the Administration announced a "one-time exception to our military supply policy to
sell Pakistan a limited quantity of arms." As Senator Case pointed out
when lie introduced S. Con. Res. 21, the equipment involved consists
of armored personnel carriers, modified patrol aircraft, fighter planes
(F-104's) and bombers (B-5Vs). None of these items have been de'vered and nothing is in the pipeline. It should be noted, however, that
although U.S. officials have suspended discussions on these sale$, the
offer to sell the equipment has not been rescinded.
INACCESSABILITY OF INFORMATION

Unfortunately, because the State Department refused to furnish

certain documents, the Commitee has had to rely on unofficial sources
for information relating to developments in East Pakistan. In this

connection, the Committee received a letter (dated April 9, 1971)

written by Mr. Jon E. Rhode, an employee of the United States Public
Health Service, which states in part as follows:
* * * As a result of complete press censorship and expulsion of journalists, banning of the major political party in
Pakistan. and repressed information about the military campaign against the civilians of East Pakistan, it probably
has been difficult for you to obtain a clear picture of events
since that date. From the outset of the army action, the
American Consul General, Mr. Archer Blood, and his staff
in Dacca have continued to send detailed factual accounts
enumerating first hand reports of the situation. These reports have been carefully collected and verified before transmission to the State Department.

The reports of the American Consul. Mr. Blood, (available to Senators and Congressmen) contain a more detailed
and complete account of the situation. In addition, lie has
submitted concrete proposals for constructive moves our
government can make. While in no way sn gesting that we
interfere with Pakistan's internal affairs, Mdr. Blood asserts,
and we support him, that the U.S. must not continue to condone the military action with official silence. We also urge )ou
read the Dacca official community's open cable to the State
Department. It is for unlimited distribution and states the
facts about the situation in East Pakistan. By not making a
statement, the State Department supports the clearly immoral action of the West Pakistani army, navy and air force
against the Bengali people.
In view of the foregoing, and contrary to the assumption of the
correspondent, Mr. Rhode, that Senators and Congressmen had these
reports, the Committee asked the Department of State to furnish it
with reports it had received from its posts in West and East Pakistan,
as well as the "open cable" sent by the official community of Dacca.
The Department replied that it was unable to accede to the request
"without departing from established practice." (The exchange of correspondence is appended to this report.) This refusal is contrary to
past practice. There have been a number of occasions when classified
reports and messages have been shown to Committee members in the
past, especially when it has served the interests of the Department of
State to do so.
In the Committee's view, if it does not have access to the type of information requested, it has no basis upon which to exercise independent judgment and therefore is not in a position to carry out its constitutional foreign policy responsibilities. This practice of the State Department in denying'information has serious implications, not only
for the Senate as a whole, but for the people the Members of that body
were elected to represent. kecoidillgY. the Committee cannot acquiesce
in this practice of denying information to the Committee. In the
absence of increased cooperation in the future, the Committee will find
it necessary to develop appropriate measures to rectify the situation.

APPENDIX
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

Washington, D.C., April 23,1971.

Hon. J. IV.

FULBRIOHT,

Chairman, Committee on ForeignRelations,

U.S. Senate.
DEAR MR. CirArMAN: The Secretary has asked me to reply to your
letter of April 6, 1971 indicating your concern over the situation in
East Pakistan and requesting information on the use of U.S.-supplied
military grant assistance in East Pakistan and the current status of

discussions with the Government of Pakistan for the sale of military

equipment and the status of any current shipments.
We share your concern that U.S. equipment has been used in this
situation and have not been silent on the matter. Since the military action began on March 25 the Department's spokesman has expressed our
concern over the reported use of American weapons, and we have done
so privately to the Pakistanis as well. The reports which we have received indicate that some M-24 tanks and F-86 aircraft have been observed in use in East Pakistan in recent weeks. It also seems likely
that military equipment supplied to Pakistan by a number of other
countries, including China, the Soviet Union and Western European
countries, has also been used. Our information is fragmentary and is
largely confined to first-hand reports from the cities of Dacca and
Chittagong.
This U.S.-origin equipment would have been provided in the late
1950's under our Military Assistance Program with Pakistan. That
program, as you may know, specifically permitted the use of our assistance for the maintenance of internal security, and in the case of a
1959 agreement for the preservation of national independence and
integrity, as well as for external defense. We provided equipment for
Pakistan Army units only in West Pakistan since the threat was perceived to be from the northwest of that province. No equipment was
supplied for the Army division in East Pakistan. However, there was
no obligation on the part of the Government of Pakistan to consult
with us if it wished to transfer equipment from one wing of the country to the other. Although we were not informed, it would appear that
some U.S.-supplied equipment was sent from West to East Pakistan,
especially older items replaced by newer equipment in the West, as in
the case of M-24 tanks.
Since we terminated MAP grant assistance and suspended military
sales to Pakistan and India in 1965, we have supplied no lethal enditems to Pakistan. After resuming a limited military sales program
to both countries in 1966-67, we have sold to Pakistan, predominantly
(7)

for cash, only non-lethal equipment and spare parts and ammunition
for arms previously supplied by us. Non-lethal items have included
trainer and transport aircraft; transport equipment such as trucks
and jeeps; and communications, medical and engineering equipment.
Ammunition in various calibres for weapons supplied prior to the
embargo in 1965 has comprised less than 15 percent of the total sales
prograin since 1966. We have continued to sell spare parts and ammunition in order to keep previously supplied U.S. equipment operational, in the belief that to allow this equipment to become inoperative
would compel Pakistan to purchase more expensive and modern replacements, diverting resources from economic development to defense
and fueling an arms race in the Subcontinent.
We have been informed by the Department of Defense that no military items have been provided to the Government of Pakistan or its
agents since the outbreak of fighting in East Pakistan March 25 and
nothing is now scheduled for such delivery. We are urgently reviewing:
this military sales program.
As you know, last October we announced a one-time exception to our
military supply policy to sell Pakistan a limited quantity of arms
including some armored personnel carriers, a few replacement interceptor and bomber aircraft, and several maritime patrol aircraft.
Nothing has been delivered following this decision, nothing is in the
pipeline, and technical talks on this subject have not been held during
the past six weeks. This matter is also being kept under review.
We are very much anare that some members of the Senate are concerned about our military supply policy toward Pakistan. Department
officers are prepared to brief you and other Senators on this subject
and to answer any further questions you may have.
1 am enclosing a compilation of recent statements made by Department spokesmen oii the situation in East Pakistan. They include several statements specifically on military supply as well as statements
of official concern over the loss of life and damage, sympathy for the
victims of these events, information on the food situation and expressions of hope that peaceful conditions can be restored and a peaceful
accommodation achieved.
Sincerely yours,
DAvID M. AesmlE,
Assistant Seeretary for CongressionalRelations.
6
AR
1971.
ArniL 6,.
OERS
P.
WILLIAM
Hon.
Secretary of State,
Washington, D.C.
DEAR MR. SECRETARY: In view of disturbing reports from East
Pakistan of seeming military excesses, I would appreciate receiving
urgently a full account of the extent to which United States supplied
military grant assistance has been used in East Pakistan.
I have particularly in mind the provisions of Chapter II, Part II,
of the Foreign Assistance Act which define the purposes for which
military assistance is granted to a country and the accountability of
recipients for the use of such equipment.

In addition, I would like to know the current status of discussions

with Pakistan concerning the proposed sale of military equipment

to Pakistan by the United States. It would be helpful if, in your

reply you could also include the status of any current shipments of
U.S. military parts, supplies or equipment, lethal or otherwise, to
Pakistan.
Sincerely yours,
J. W. FULBEIGHT, Chairman.
THE CRISIS IN EAST PAKISTAN-STATEMENTS

BY THE DEPARTMENT OF

STATE PRESS SPOKESMEN

March 26: "We are watching development closely with concern."

March 31: "A ranking officer of the Embassy in Islamabad expressed our concern to a ranking official of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs . . . that while we recognized that there was censorship in
effect, we felt that the legitimate news gathering functions of American journalists had been unduly restricted."
April 2: "We are naturally concerned at the reported loss of life,
damage and hardship suffered by the people of Pakistan."
"Now in this respect we have noted the statement yesterday by the
UN Secretary General. And in this connection we would, of course,
give sympathetic consideration to any international humanitarian
efforts to assist that might be requested by the Government of Pakistan
in line with the Secretary General's statement."
"We view what is going on in Pakistan as an internal matter."
April 5: "It is our hope that peaceful conditions can be re-established."
*

"We are naturally concerned at the reported loss of life, damage

and hardship suffered by the people of Pakistan. We have noted U
Thant's statement of March 31 and said that we would of course give
sympathetic consideration to any international humanitarian efforts
to assist that might be requested by the Government of Pakistan in
line with the Secretary General's statement."
April 6: "Naturally, as a general proposition we would be concerned
if American weapons were used in circumstances such as these."
MAIN DEPARTMENT STATEMENT

April 7: "Since the beginning of the present crisis, we have on several occasions expressed concern over the loss of life and damage which
have occurred in East Pakistan, and we have expressed the hope that
peaceful conditions will be restored.
"While we have pointed out the difficulty of obtaining reliable information on the situation, it is increasingly clear that there have
S. Rept. 92-105--

10
been substantial casualties and damage, although we still have no way
of estimating the extent of the casualties and damage with any
precision.
"Our sympathy goes out to the victims of recent events. Normal life
in East Pakistan has been seriously disrupted. We continue to believe it
is important and that every feasible step be taken to end the conflict
and achieve a peaceful accommodation.
"We hope that it will be possible soon to alleviate the suffering
caused by recent events. In this connection, we also hope the Government of Pakistan will avail itself of offers of assistance from the international community. The United States is prepared to assist in any
international humanitarian effort of this kind. We have discussed
these matters with the Government of Pakistan and we will continue
to do so."

-I do not believe that there has been a request for international relief
assistance from the Government of Pakistan to any party . . . we
continue to hope that the Government of Pakistan will avail itself of
the offers that arc and may be forthcoming."
"1e
expressed shortly after the newsmen were expelled our deep
concern that their legitimate news-gathering functions had been inhibited and their cameras, notes, etc., had been taken from them.
We asked that their personal property be returned."
April 12: "We do not have, as some accounts have suggested, a large
on-going military assistance program with Pakistan. There has been
an embargo since 1965. The one-time exception announced last October
is still Inder discussion in terms of specifications and prices.
"There is no-repeat-no equipment in the pipeline and none has
been delivered under that exception. Indeed, technical talks on this
subject have not been held for some six weeks.
"We have had a modest program of sales, predominantly cash, to
Pakistan, for non-lethal military equipment, spare parts for equipment already in Pakistani laimds anc some ammunition.
"The agreements uider which this program was worked out were
arrived at well before the beginning of the Present crisis, and I am
not aware of any new arrangements with the Pakistan Government
since time crisis began. Insofar as shipments under these agreements
a concerned. we have this matter umilel review.
"In brief, the notion that we have a substantial military assistance
program with Pakistan is erroneous."i
April 13: "The over-all food supply in East Pakistan appears to be
adequate now. Obviously, one canot"be sure there are no local short
ages, but as a general proposition, we feel safe in saying there is no
widespread famine. Stocks presently ...
700,000 tons, or 4 months
Supply at normal rates. Additionally, 200,000 tons on the water much
of that in East Pakistan ports. Further, 300,000 tons of U.S. grain has
been authorized and will move as soon as delivery can be made. If
future needs prove to be greater than this, we would, of course, con-

sider additional PL 480 shipments. And we are in a position to move

promptly if it proves necessary.
"Now, the Department of Agriculture yesterday said we were advising the Government of Pakistan that we are anxious to resume shipnients at the earliest possible time that port congestion in East Pakistan is eased and off-loading and distribution arranged. All this by
way of saying that the problem is not supply, but off-loading facilities
and distribution in East Pakistan, because rail, boat and road transport have been disrupted, and labor at the docks is largely unavailable.
"Now, we have stressed to the Government of Pakistan the importance of resolving distribution problems, and we have also continued
to emphasize we are prepared to support any international humanitarian efforts to provide assistance to East Pakistan."
April 15: "We have been struck by the fact that some reporting on
Pakistan continues to assert that U.S. arms are flowing into Pakistan,
and that U.S. food assistance is being cut off. These assertions are not
true.
"First, there is no widespread famine in East Pakistan, based on
the best information available to us, although local shortages may
exist. The problem is not supply, it is distribution and port congestion.
We have taken up with the Government of Pakistan a number of
times the urgent need to resolve these problems. 900,000 tons of grain,
including large quantities of U.S. PL-480 wheat are either in government stocks in East Pakistan or at its ports or on the high seas.
300,000 additional tons of U.S. grain have been authorized and will
move as soon as deliveries can be made, and the United States will act
promptly if more is needed. We have said, and repeated our willingiiess to support any additional international humanitarian relief effort, and the Government of Pakistan is fully aware of our readiness
to do so.
"On the question of U.S. arms, the embargo has been in effect since
1965. With regard to the one-time exception announced last October,
no arms have been delivered and none are in the pipeline. Since
1966 67, under the foreign military sales agreement with Pakistan.
a very modest quantity of such items as communications, medical and
transportation equipment, as well as spare parts and ammunition
for arms provided prior to the 1965 embargo, have gone to Pakistan.
With respect to the question of ammunition, no more than 10 or 15
percent of the total material has been ammunition * * *.We have
been informed by the Department of Defense that none of these items
have been provided to the Pakistan Government or its agents since
the outbreak of fighting in East Pakistan, March 25-26, and nothing
is now scheduled for such delivery. In short, no arms have been
provided to the Government of Pakistan since the beginning of this
crisis, and the question of deliveries will be kept under review in light
of developments."
REFUGEE PROBLE31

April 27: "We have had a number of conversations with the Indian
Government on this subject, both here and in New Delhi, and we
will be moving as promptly as we can within the framework of
some form of international effort, perhaps under the United Nations,
perhaps the International Red Cross. The details are not settled.

"I do understand that three-and maybe more, but I know of

only three-voluntary agencies-Catholic Relief Service, or Services;
Church World Service; and CARE-which have humanitarian pro-

grams in India, are, with our consent, diverting some of the commodities which they use in their normal programs to establish refugee
relief programs in West Bengal, which I believe will take care of
roughly 150,000 refugees in West Bengal for several weeks."
"I have seen figures, with an Indian source, which suggest that
there may be on the order of half a million refugees in the States
of West Bengal and Assam. But I stress that we have no independent
figure of our own."
DEPARTM'EN-T

OF STATE,

lWashington, D.C., April 29, 1971.

Hon. J. W. FULBRIGHT,
Chairman. Committee on Foreign Relationsm,
C7.S. Senate.
DEAR MR. CIMnAN: The Acting Secretary asked me to reply to

your letter of April 23, 1971, requesting reports received from posts
in West and East Pakistan regarding the current crisis in that country.
We have given the most careful consideration to your letter. I hope
you ivill understand that the Department is unable to accede to your
request without departing from established practice as mentioned in
my letter to you of September 28, 1970, in regard to Under Secre-

tary Irwin's appearance on Chile.

Consistent therewith and with the Administration's policy of cooperating with the Congress in providing information on foreign policy
developments, Deputy Assistant Secretary Van Hollen is prepared to
testify tomorrow in executive session on the situation in Pakistan. I
trust Mr. Van Hollen's testimony can satisfy the Committee's need for
information.
Sincerely yours,

DAVID M. ABsanixm,
Assistant Secretary for CongressionalRelations.

April 23,1971.
Hon. WILLIAM P. ROGERS,
Secretary of State,
Washington, D.C.
DEAR AIR. SECRETARsY: II preparation for an executive hearing which
the Committee on Foreign Relations expects to schedule next week,
it is requested that the Department of State furnish the Committee
with those reports (including cables and telegrams) which it has received from posts in West and East Pakistan regarding the current
crisis in that country. In addition, I am informed that the official
community of Dacca sent an open cable to the State Department

earlier this month. It would be appreciated if this cable could also be

made available to the Committee.
I would be grateful if you could comply with these requests at the
earliest practicable date.
Sincerely yours,
J. W. FULBRIGT,Chairman.
Barrington,R.I., April 15,1971.

Senator J. W. FULEIONGT,
Chairman, Committee on ForeignRelations,
U.S. Senate, Washington,D.C.
DEAR SENATOR FULBRIGHT: As Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, I know you must be deeply concerned
about the civil war that has been raging in East Pakistan since March
25th. My husband and I have recently returned to the United States
after a five-week visit with my son who has been living in Dacca for
the past three years. Although we left before the outbreak of hostilities, we were fully aware of the strained political relations that had
developed following the elections of last December. We have just received a letter from my son, Jon, who was evacuated to Tehran, Iran
along with many other Americans on April 7th. Ile has asked me to
forward the attached letter to you as well as to other members of the
Foreign Relations Committee. The letter speaks for itself, but I would
like to quote one paragraph (page three) with which my husband and
I are in complete agreement.
"Fully recognizing the inability of our government to oppose actively or to intervene in this desperate oppression of the Bengalis, I
urge you to seek and support a condemnation by Congress and the
President of the United States of the inhuman treatment being accorded the 75 million people of East Pakistan. The silence of our government is being widely regarded as tacit approval of the action being
taken bv the Pakistan military."
Sincerely yours,
EDGAR F. ROUDE.
AMiERICAN

EMBASSY,

APO New York, N.Y., April 9,1971.

Two days ago my wife and I were evacuated from Dacca, East
Pakistan where I have been posted for the past three years under a
U.S. AID program. I am certain that you are aware of the political
events preceding the army crackdown on March 25th. As a result of
complete press censorship and expulsion of journalists, banning of the
major political party in Pakistan, and repressed information about the
military campaign against the civilians of East Pakistan. it probably
has been difficult for you to obtain a clear picture of events since that
date From the outset of the army action, the American Consul General, Mr. Archer Blood, and his staff in Dacca have continued to send

detailed factual accounts enumerating first hand reports of the situation. These reports have been carefully collected and verified before
transmission to the State Department. Publicly the State Department
claims they do not have enough facts; but I have seen the facts sent
at length daily from Dacca. The American Consul in Karachi also
stated to me that only recently had he begun to receive the accounts
about the situation in East Pakistan. when the Consulate in Dacca has
been transmitting informaion from the start of the action.
Although Consul Blood's reports contain a more detailed account
of the current situation, I wish to bring to your attention the observations I have made in the past weeks in Dacca. My wife and I watched
from our roof the night of March 25th as tanks rolled out of the
Cantonment illuminated by the flares and the red glow of fires as
the city was shelled by artillery, and mortars were fired into overcrowded slums and bazaars. After two days of loud explosions and
the ceaseless chatter of machine guns, we took advantage of a break
in the curfew to drive through the city. Driving past streams of
refugees, we saw burned out shacks of the families living by the railroad tracks. A Bengali friend living close by had watched the army
set fire to the hovels, and as the families ran out, he saw them shot
"like dogs". He accepted our offer to take him and his family of 12
into our home. In the Old City of Dacca, we walked through the remains of Nayer Bazaar, where Moslem and Hindu woodcutters had
worked, now only a tangle of iron sheet and smouldering ruins. The
Hindu shopkeepers and craftsmen still alive in the bombed ruins of
Shankari Bazaar begged me to help them only hours after the army
had moved in to kill all the inhabitants. On the 29th of March at
Ramna Kali Bar, an ancient Hindu village of 200-300 people in the
center of the Dacca Raina Race Course, we saw the stacks of machine-gunned, burning remains of men, women and children butchered
in the early morning hours of the day. I photographed the scene hours
later, although the following day three British citizens suspected of
photographing a church were set against a wall after grilling by an
Army officer and were saved from execution by the timely arrival of
the British Consul.
At the Dacca University area on the 29th, we walked through Jagannath Hall and Iqbal Hall, two of the student dormitories, which had
been shelled by army tanks and all residents were slaughtered. We
saw the breach in the wall where the tank broke through, the mass
grave in front of the hall where one man who was forced by the
army to help drag the bodies outside, counted 103 of the Hindu stu
dents buried there. We saw the massive holes in the walls of the
dormitory, the smoking remains of the rooms, and the heavily bloodstained floors.
The two ensuing weeks have documented the planned killing of
much of the intellectual community, including a majority of the
professors at Dacca University and imany families of these professors
were shot as well. Full documentation of the names of people killed
is difficult due to the army's thorough search of people leaving Dacca.
Complete censorship was facilitated when three prominent mass

circulation daily newspapers were burned: The People, The Ittefaq,

and The Sangbad. While Radio Pakistan continued to broadcast that
life had returned to normal, we witnessed the daily movement of
thousands of civilians fleeing the terrorized city.
In Gulshan, one of the suburbs of Dacca where we lived, we witnessed
the disarming of the East Pakistan Rifles stationed in the Children's
Park across the street, the army looting the food supplies from the
market nearby, and finally the execution of several EPR as they were
forced by Punjabi soldiers onto a truck to be "taken away." The mass
execution of several thousands of Bengali policemen and the EPR is
already documented. We also witnessed from a neighbor's house,
army personnel fire three shots across Gulshan Lake at several little
boys who were swimming. Almost every night there was sporadic
gunfire near our home, adding to the fear of the 26 refugees staying
with us.
I would be possible for me to chronicle many specific atrocities, but
we have left close friends behind whose lives might be more endangered. It is clear that the law of the jungle prevails in East Pakistan
where the mass killing of unarmed civilians, the systematic elimination
of the intelligentsia, and the annihilation of the Hindu population is
inprogress.
The reports of the American Consul, Mr. Blood (available to Senators and Congressmen), contain a more detailed and complete account
of the situation. In addition, he has submitted concrete proposals for
constructive moves our government can make. While in no way suggesting that we interfere with Pakistan's internal affairs, Mr. Blood asserts, and we support him, that the U.S. must not continue to condone
the military action with official silence. We also urge you to read
the Dacca official community's open cable to the State Department.
It is for unlimited distribution and states the facts
'1)outthe situation in East Pakistan. By not making a statement, the State Department supports the clearly immoral action of the West Pakistani army,
navy and air force against the Bengali people.
Fully recognizing the inability of our government to oppose actively
or to intervene in this oppression of the Bengalis, I urge you to seek
and support a condemnation by Congress and the President of the
United States of the inhutnan treatment being accorded the 75 million
people of East Pakistan. The silence of our government is being widely
regarded as tacit approval of the action being taken by the Pakistan
military. No political consideration can outweigh the importance of a
humanitarian stand reiterating the American belief in the value of
individual lives and a democratic process of government. The action of
President Yaliva banning the democratically elected majority party
who had 98% of the East Wing's electorate backing them, ought to
arouse a response from a country who prides itself on the democratic
process.
We urge you to speak out actively against the tragic massacre of
civilians and take the humanitarian stand which must override any
consideration of power politics.
JoN E. Rosmz.

16
DEPARTMENT

OF STATE,

Washington, D.C., May 6, 1971.

Hon. J. W.

FULBRIGHT,

Chairman. Committee on Foreign Relations,

U.S. Senate.
DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Secretary has asked my to reply to your
letter of April 19 requesting coordinated Executive Branch comments
on S. Con. Res. 21, a concurrent resolution calling for suspension of all
American military assistance and all licenses for military sales to Pakistan "until the conflict in East Pakistan is resolved."
First, let me assure you that we share the Committee's regret over the
conflict which has arisen in East Pakistan and over the bloodshed in a
country with which we have maintained longstanding friendly relations. As I mentioned to you in my letter of April 22, the Department's
spokesman has noted publicly the concern felt over the involvement
of American weapons and we'have privately called this concern to the
attention of the Government of Pakistan as well.
As I pointed out in my letter of April 22, however, our Military Assistance Program (MAP) with Pakistan specifically acknowledged the
right of that country to use equipment provided under MAP to maintain its internal security as well as its external defense. This position as contained in our 1954 bilateral Mutual Defense Assistance
Agreement with the Government of Pakistan was based on provisions
of Congressional legislation.
Much has already been done, however, that parallels the basic concern expressed in the concurrent resolution. As you know, we terminated all grant military assistance to Pakistan and India, as a consequence of the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war. We have provided no weapons
to either country since then. The only measure of grant military assistance which we lave reinstituted since 1965 has been a modest program
of military training, running at about $200,000 annually for each
country. We believe this program serves a useful and constructive
purpose in maintaining liaison and friendly ties between the armed
forces of the United States and Pakistan, offering the latter a continuing avenue of contact with the West and exposure to western ideas.
We would hope this activity could continue and we would regret its
suspension or termination.
With respect to military supply, as the Department's spokesman announced on April 15, the Department of Defense has informed us that
no military sales items including spare parts and ammunition have
been provided to the Government of Pakistan or its agents since the
outbreak of fighting in East Pakistan on March 25. In short, no arms
have been provided since the beginning of the crisis and the question
of deliveries is under review.
The continuing military supply program, however, has been, and
continues to be, an important element in our overall bilateral relationship with Pakistan. Much of the equipment of the Pakistan armed
forces is of U.S. origin, carried over from the period of our grant
MAP assistance, 1954-65. Pakistan maintains this equipment through
continuing purchases of spare parts, and limited quantities of certain
types of ammunition, from the United States. All past experience suggests, however, that suspension of U.S. military sales will not shut

off a flow of supplies from other sources. Thus an absolute suspension,

regardless of developing circumstance, would not significantly affect
the military situation in East Pakistan and could have a strongly adverse political impact on our relations with Pakistan. Thus we believe
some flexibility is desirable iii our miltary supply program, in the
light of developments, to permit us to preserve a viable relationship
with the Government of Pakistan that will be essential if we are to
help in providing assistance to those whose lives have been disrupted
in the recent fighting and in rebuilding normal patterns of life.
It would, therefore, appear desirable for the U.S. to be able to continue to supply limited quantities of military items to Pakistan to
enable us both to maintain a constructive bilateral political dialogue
and to help ensure that Pakistan is not compelled to rely increasingly
on other sources of supply.
Finally, I would like to express our view that the time frame within
which the resolution has been drafted--"until the conflict in East
Pakistan is resolved"-is so imprecise as to render its application
difficult if not impossible. The conflict in East Pakistan in terms of an
active resistance movement appears already to have largely subsided as
the Government of Pakistan has succeeded in extending its control over
the chief population centers and much of the countryside of East
Pakistan. The present official position of the Government of Pakistan
is that the armed conflict in East Pakistan has actually ended and that
economic rehabilitation and political accommodation are to be undertaken. President Yahya Khan has reiterated his intention to restore
government to the elected representatives of the people as soon as circumstances permit. The difficulty in this situation would be how to
determine precisely when the conflict in East Pakistan has actually
been resolved.
I hope these Executive Branch comments will be helpful to you and
the Committee in deciding what action to take on S. Con. Res. 21
which we hope you will reconsider in the light of the points set forth
above.
The Office of Management and Budget advises that from the standpoint of the Administration's program there is no objection to the
submission of this report.
Sincerely,
DAVID f.e

silHiRes,

Assistant Secretary for CongressionalRelations.