বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ ত্রয়োদশ খণ্ড
Pakistan was suspended (later terminated) in September 1965. Since that time Pakistan has obtained equipment from several suppliers, including China, the USSR, and France. We must assume that some of this equipment has been used in East Pakistan, as well as equipment that we previously supplied, but we have no way of knowing the proportions of use in the present crisis. We regret that U.S. equipment has been so used and have so advised the Government of Pakistan, which however sees itself as within its sovereign right in using its military forces to preserve its internal Security as it sees best.
What we have sold to Pakistan since 1965 has been limited to a very large degree to such end items as transport and communications equipment and spare parts for previously supplied U.S. equipment. Some ammunition was also sold. After Fighting broke out in East Pakistan in late March of this year, we took action to suspend all further sale-except for those items in the pipeline where valid licenses were outstanding. What has gone to Pakistan since that time, under those valid licenses, has been almost entirely spare parts and, because many of the licenses either expired or were not utilized, has totaled no more than $3 to $4 million. No military ammunition has been involved. As of the present time what remains of the pipeline represents a Figure considerably less than $4 million, and this figure will continue to decline as the few remaining licenses are utilized or expire.
Thus what we are talking about is not only a small figure but one with little real military consequence in East Pakistan. We have not felt we should apply a full embargo on these remaining shipments because of our wish to avoid arbitrary actions with the Government of Pakistan that could limit the role we may be able to play in helping to restore peaceful conditions,
We have been similarly guided in our approach to economic aid. We have not provided any new bilateral economic aid (except for humanitarian assistance) since the fighting began, but we have felt that formally to terminate existing projects would not only be counterproductive for the flexibility we seek to retain in our overall relationship with Pakistan but would in the final analysis be detrimental to the people of Pakistan. This is the position of most, if not all, other aid donors to Pakistan As for the future we have said that we look forward to resuming our support for what was a promising development effort prior to the events in March, but that we could do so only in the context of a revised national development plan encompassing both wings. Any such revision by the Pakistan must obviously take full account of the current political situation. We do not believe this position differs materially from that of most other donors.
You refer to our role in humanitarian relief. There our purpose is clear and, we hope, unquestioned-to support as effectively and strongly as we can the efforts of the international community led by the United Nations to relieve human suffering and to prevent future famine. Both the President and the Secretary of State have made clear our determination to provide all-out support for this effort. In doing so it would be difficult to guarantee particularly under present conditions in East Pakistan, that our relief contributions will in every case be fully and effectively utilized, but we are reasonably confident that our contributions and those of others are in fact reaching the people concerned. That confidence will be strengthened as the United Nations establishes itself on the ground in East Pakistan an operation to which we are giving full and material support.
