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ACTION NEA-10
INFO OCT-01 EUR-12 EA-07 ISO-00 IO-13 CIAE-00 DODE-00
NSAE-00 NSCE-00 SSO-00 USIE-00 INRE-00 SAJ-01 SAM-01
AID-05 PM-04 H-02 INR-07 L-03 NSC-05 PA-01 PRS-01
SP-02 SS-15 EB-07 DOTE-00 COME-00 OMB-01 ACDA-07 /105 W
--------------------- 060113
O R 180410Z MAY 76
FM AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5535
INFO AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
AMEMBASSY DACCA
AMEMBASSY KABUL
AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU
AMEMBASSY LONDON
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI IMMEDIATE
AMEMBASSY TEHRAN
USLO PEKING
USMISSION USUN
AMCONSUL HONG KONG
AMCONSUL KARACHI
AMCONSUL LAHORE
AMCONSUL PESHAWAR
CINCPAC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 1 OF 2 ISLAMABAD 5059
CINCPAC FOR POLAD
E.O. 11652: GDS
TAGS: PFOR, PK, IN
SUBJECT: INDO-PAK RELATIONS
REF: ISLAMABAD 4993
SUMMARY: MFA OFFICIAL EXPRESSED GREAT SATISFACTION WITH
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PAGE 02 ISLAMA 05059 01 OF 02 180541Z
INDO-PAK AGREEMENT PROVISIONS CALLING FOR RESTORATION OF
DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS, REESTABLISHMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
LINKS, AND EXPANSION OF TRADE TO INCLUDE PRIVATE
PARTICIPATION. NEGOTIATIONS HAD NOT BEEN ALL SMOOTH
SAILING; ACCORDING OFFICIAL, PAKS HAD TO OVERCOME
INITIAL INDIAN RELUCTANCE TO COME TO DEFINITIVE AGREE-
MENTS. BOTH SIDES HAVE AGREED THAT REESTABLISHMENT OF
EMBASSIES AND REINSTITUTION OF TRANSIT FACILITIES SHOULD
TAKE PLACE SIMULTANEOUSLY; PAKS HAVE SUGGESTED JULY 15
AND ARE AWAITING INDIAN REPLY. RAIL AND ROAD LINKS WILL
BE ONLY AT WAGAH BORDER IN THE PUNJAB. THREE AIR ROUTES
ARE LIKELY, A RETURN TO THE PRE-1965 PATTERN. PAKS HAD
RAISED KASHMIR ISSUE IN TALKS; INDIANS SAID THEY HAD NO
BRIEF BUT WOULD REPORT GOP VIEWS TO NEW DELHI. PAKS
HAD ALSO RAISED "TENSION REDUCING MEASURES." OFFICIAL
EXPRESSED HOPE THAT AGREEMENTS, WHICH HAVE VIRTUALLY
COMPLETED THE NORMALIZATION PROCESS, WOULD PAVE THE WAY
FOR RECONCILIATION GOING BEYOND NORMALIZATION IN ITS
NARROW SENSE. END SUMMARY.
1. POL COUNSELOR MET MAY 17 WITH MFA DIRECTOR GENERAL
(SOUTH ASIA) HAYAT MEHDI TO GET RUNDOWN ON INDO-PAK
TALKS WHICH CONCLUDED SUCCESSFULLY HERE MAY 14. MEHDI
HAD BEEN MFA SECOND-IN-COMMAND UNDER FOREIGN SECRETARY
AGHA SHAHI DURING THREE DAY NEGOTIATIONS AND WAS
REPORTEDLY LARGELY RESPONSIBLE FOR DRAFTING OF THE
AGREEMENT WHICH RESULTED.
2. MEHDI EXPRESSED GREAT SATISFACTION THAT AGREEMENTS
HAD BEEN HAMMERED OUT IN FOUR IMPORTANT AREAS: (1)
REESTABLISHMENT OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS; (2) REESTABLISH-
MENT OF AIR LINKS AND OVERFLIGHTS; (3) REESTABLISHMENT
OF ROAD AND RAIL LINKS; AND (4) EXPANSION OF TRADE TO
INCLUDE PRIVATE PARTICIPATION IN ADDITION TO STATE
TRADING ACTIVITY. POL COUNSELOR REITERATED EMBASSY'S
EARLIER EXPRESSION OF CONGRATULATIONS AND SATISFACTION
WITH OUTCOME OF TALKS.
3. MEHDI INDICATED THAT TALKS HAD NOT BEEN ALL
SMOOTH SAILING. HE SAID THAT INITIAL GOI POSITION ON
BOTH CIVIL AIR ISSUE AND RESUMPTION OF DIPLOMATIC
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RELATIONS HAD BEEN THAT TWO SIDES SHOULD AGREE IN
PRINCIPLE OR COME TO TENTATIVE AGREEMENT SUBJECT TO
LATER RATIFICATION. ACCORDING TO MEHDI, PAKS HAD TAKEN
LINE THAT IN CIVIL AVIATION MATTER CORRESPONDENCE
BETWEEN THE TWO PRIME MINISTERS HAD ALREADY AMOUNTED
TO AGREEMENT AND THAT IT WOULD DEROGATE FROM DIGNITY
OF PMS IF NEGOTIATORS MERELY CONFIRMED WHAT HAD ALREADY
BEEN ACCOMPLISHED. MEHDI WAS OF THE OPINION THAT
INITIAL INDIAN RELUCTANCE TO MOVE MORE SWIFTLY WAS
PROBABLY DUE TO UNCERTAINTY ON PART OF BRAND NEW FOREIGN
SECRETARY JAGAT MEHTA, CHARGED WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR
HIS FIRST IMPORTANT NEGOTIATION IN HIS NEW ROLE. MEHDI
INDICATED, HOWEVER, THAT PAK SIDE GAINED INCREASING
RESPECT FOR MEHTA'S INTELLIGENCE, OPENNESS AND GOOD
HUMOR AS THE NEGOTIATIONS PROCEEDED.
4. TIMING. MEHDI CONFIRMED THAT PAKS AND INDIANS HAD
AGREED THAT RESTORATION OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS AND
RESUMPTION OF AIR, RAIL AND ROAD LINKS SHOULD BE CARRIED
OUT SIMULTANEOUSLY. HE SAID THAT PAKS HAD AT FIRST
SUGGESTED JULY 1 AS DATE THESE AGREEMENTS ON THEM
SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED. INDIANS HAD BALKED
AT THIS EARLY TIMING. PAKS HAD THEN SUGGESTED JULY 15
AND INDIANS RETURNED TO NEW DELHI WITH THIS DATE IN
MIND, PROMISING TO CONFIRM WITHIN A COUPLE OF DAYS
FOLLOWING CONSULTATIONS. PAKS HAVE NOT YET HEARD FROM
THEM BUT MEHDI IS HOPEFUL THAT JULY 15 WILL BE ACCEPTABLE
IN NEW DELHI.
5. DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS. MEHDI SAID THAT RESUMPTION
OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WOULD INVOLVE REESTABLISHMENT
OF TWO MISSIONS HEADED BY AMBASSADORS AT NEW DELHI AND
ISLAMABAD. HE SAID THAT LITTLE THOUGHT HAD YET BEEN
GIVEN TO PROSPECTIVE SIZE OF PAKISTAN EMBASSY IN INDIA
BUT VENTURED THAT IT MIGHT START OUT WITH ABOUT THREE
SUBSTANTIVE OFFICERS AND A COUPLE OF ADMINISTRATIVE
OFFICERS. HE SAID HE BELIEVED THAT EVENTUALLY THE NUMBER
OF OFFICERS MIGHT RISE TO THE PRE-1971 FIGURE OF
APPROXIMATELY 13-14 INCLUDING MILITARY ATTACHES. HE
SAID THAT THE INDIANS HAD RAISED THE QUESTION OF RE-
OPENING THEIR CONSULATE GENERAL IN KARACHI. THE PAKS
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HAD NOT BEEN PREPARED FOR THIS, HAD NOT WORKED OUT A
POSITION IN THE INTER-MINISTERIAL CONSULTATIONS
PRECEDING THE NEGOTIATIONS, AND ASKED THAT THE MATTER
BE DEFERRED UNTIL AFTER THE TWO EMBASSIES WERE IN
OPERATION. THE INDIANS AGREED TO THIS. MEHDI
ACKNOWLEDGED THAT JOINT STATEMENT WORDING REAFFIRMING
THE ADHERENCE ON BOTH SIDES TO THE VIENNA CONVENTION ON
DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS, TO WHICH BOTH INDIA AND PAKISTAN
ARE SIGNATORIES, REPRESENTED COMPROMISE BETWEEN INDIA
POSITION CALLING FOR SEPARATE PROTOCOL ON TREATMENT OF
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12
ACTION NEA-10
INFO OCT-01 EUR-12 EA-07 ISO-00 CIAE-00 DODE-00 NSAE-00
NSCE-00 SSO-00 USIE-00 INRE-00 PM-04 H-02 INR-07 L-03
NSC-05 PA-01 PRS-01 SP-02 SS-15 SAJ-01 SAM-01 AID-05
EB-07 DOTE-00 COME-00 IO-13 ACDA-07 OMB-01 /105 W
--------------------- 060159
O R 180410Z MAY 76
FM AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5536
INFO AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
AMEMBASSY DACCA
AMEMBASSY KABUL
AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU
AMEMBASSY LONDON
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI IMMEDIATE
AMEMBASSY TEHRAN
USLO PEKING
USMISSION USUN
AMCONSUL HONG KONG
AMCONSUL KARACHI
AMCONSUL LAHORE
AMCONSUL PESHAWAR
CINCPAC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 2 OF 2 ISLAMABAD 5059
DIPLOMATS AND PAK CONTENTION THAT SUCH A SPECIAL
ARRANGEMENT WOULD REPRESENT DISCRIMINATORY TREATMENT.
HE EXPRESSED HIS PERSONAL HOPE AND EXPECTATION THAT THE
TWO SIDES WOULD ACT MORE MATURELY THAN THEY HAD IN THE
PAST WHEN THE NORMAL ACTIVITIES OF BOTH MISSIONS HAD
BEEN HAMSTRUNG BY THE SECURITY PRECAUTIONS OF THE HOST
GOVERNMENTS AND MISSION STAFF BADLY TREATED.
6. RAIL AND ROAD LINKS. AGREEMENT ON THE RESUMPTION
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OF RAIL AND ROAD LINKS INVOLVED ONLY THE REESTABLISHMENT
OF THESE AT THE WAGAH-ATTARI BORDER IN PUNJAB. THE
MODALITIES WHICH HAVE BEEN WORKED OUT PROVIDE FOR TRANS-
SHIPMENT AT THE ROAD BORDER CROSSING POINT; PAKISTANI
TRUCKS WILL GO AS FAR AS THE BORDER, COOLIES WILL
CARRY THE GOODS TO INDIAN TRUCKS WAITING ON THE OTHER
SIDE AND VICE VERSA. (THIS ARRANGEMENT IS ALREADY IN
EFFECT FOR AFGHAN GOODS MOVING TO INDIA.) FREIGHT TRAINS
WILL GO AS FAR AS LAHORE AND AMRITSAR, WITH TRANS-SHIPMENT
VIA CUSTOM POSTS SET UP AT THE RAILWAY STATIONS IN
THOSE CITIES. THERE WILL BE NO THROUGH PASSENGER
TRAINS, ONLY LAHORE-AMRITSAR SHUTTLE SERVICE, AN
ARRANGEMENT SIMILAR TO THAT BEFORE THE 1965 WAR.
7. CIVIL AVIATION. THE CIVIL AIR AUTHORITIES OF THE
TWO COUNTRIES WILL BE MEETING TO WORK OUT THE MODALITIES
OF THE RESUMED DIRECT AIR LINKS. ACCORDING TO MEHDI,
THE PAKISTANIS HAVE IN MIND THREE SUCH LINKS: KARACHI-
BOMBAY, KARACHI-DELHI, AND LAHORE-DELHI. (MEHDI
ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THIS TOO REPRESENTED A RETURN TO THE
PRE-1965 PATTERN.) ASKED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF A
LINK BETWEEN ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI AND DELHI, MEHDI
INDICATED THAT THE PAKS WERE NOT ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT
THIS. HE SAID, HOWEVER, THAT THE TWO SIDES WOULD
NATURALLY BE LOOKING AT TRAFFIC PATTERNS ONCE THEY WERE
ESTABLISHED TO DETERMINE WHETHER THERE SHOULD BE ANY
CHANGES. HE SAID HE HAD NO INFORMATION ON POSSIBLE
FREQUENCIES OF FLIGHTS BUT RECKONED THAT THESE WOULD BE
ROUGHLY WHAT THEY HAD BEEN BEFORE 1965. ON OVER-
FLIGHTS, MEHDI SAID THAT HE EXPECTED PAKISTAN WOULD
WANT TO ESTABLISH LINKS WITH BANGLADESH AND WOULD ALSO
WANT TO IMPLEMENT ITS CIVIL AIR AGREEMENT WITH NEPAL.
HE SAID HE HAD CALCULATED THAT AFTER EACH OF THESE
ROUTES WAS ESTABLISHED THE INDIANS WOULD BE OVER-
FLYING PAKISTAN APPROXIMATELY 40 TIMES A WEEK COMPARED
TO PAK OVERFLIGHTS OF INDIA COMING TO ABOUT 18 WEEKLY.
8. KASHMIR. MEHDI CONFIRMED THAT AGHA SHAHI HAD RAISED
THE KASHMIR ISSUE. HE SAID THAT SHAHI HAD STATED THAT
WITH AGREEMENT REACHED ON OTHER MATTERS, KASHMIR
REMAINED THE ONLY ITEM LEFT TO DISCUSS ON THE SIMLA
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AGENDA AND THAT THE PAKS WOULD WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS
AT SOME FUTURE TIME. MEHTA, HE SAID, HAD REPLIED THAT HE HAD
NO BRIEF BUT UNDERTOOK TO REPORT THE PAKISTAN
POSITION TO HIS GOVERNMENT.
9. OTHER MATTERS. MEHDI SAID THAT THE PAKISTANIS HAD
RAISED THE SUBJECT OF "TENSION REDUCING MEASURES"
INCLUDING THE POSSIBILITY OF THE THINNING OUT OF
BORDER FORCES. HE SAID THE INDIANS HAD EXPRESSED
INTEREST IN THIS AND INDICATED A WILLINGNESS TO DISCUSS
IT AT SOME LATER DATE. THE PAKS, HE SAID, HAD ALSO
MENTIONED NUCLEAR MATTERS, INCLUDING SECURITY ASSURANCES
AND SOUTH ASIAN NUCLEAR FREE ZONE PROPOSAL. THE INDIANS
HAD SAID THEY HAD NO BRIEF TO DISCUSS THESE.
10. SUMMING UP, MEHDI EXPRESSED THE HOPE THAT THE
AGREEMENTS, WHICH HAVE VIRTUALLY COMPLETED THE NORMALIZA-
TION PROCESS, WOULD PAVE THE WAY FOR RECONCILIATION
GOING BEYOND NORMALIZATION IN ITS NARROW SENSE. HE
AGREED THAT THIS REQUIRED A LARGE AMOUNT OF POLITICAL
WILL ON BOTH SIDES. HE SAID THAT HE THOUGHT THAT WITH
BHUTTO AND MRS. GANDHI BOTH LIKELY TO WIN FRESH MANDATES
AT THE POLLS IN THE YEAR AHEAD, THIS POLITICAL
WILL COULD BE MUSTERED. POLITICAL COUNSELOR SAID THAT
ALL FRIENDS OF PAKISTAN AND INDIA WOULD SHARE THIS
HOPE.
AMSTUTZ
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