Kissinger arriving today
From Our Special Correspondent New Delhi, July 5. -Mr. Kissiner, Adviser to the U.S. President, Mr. Nixon, is arriving here tomorrow afternoon for talks with the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and the Defence Minister. The Foreign Secretary is among officials whom he will meet. He leaves for Pakistan on Thursday morning.
The Government of India has nothing special to discuss with him. In fact. New Delhi wonders what might have persuaded him to visit India at this moment. One presumption is that he will try to find out how far India will go in support of Bangladesh.
New Delhi has a feeling that Mr. Swaran Singh, the Foreign Minister, was double-crossed by the American authorities on the issue of supply of arms and economic aid to Pakistan during his recent visit to Washington.
while assurances were given at the highest level that the USA would not supply arms or give economic aid to Islamabad unless it agreed to a political settlement in Bangladesh. Washington was actually shipping arms to Pakistan.
Such behaviour is unusual on the part of people occupying high positions in Government. New Delhi will not leave Mr. Kissinger in any doubt how it has reacted to this doublecrossing.
Since Mr. Swaran Singh’s return to New Delhi from his foreign tour, the only major == that has happened in Pakistan is General Yahya Khan’s broadeast of June 28 in which he made it absolutely clear that he had no intention to open the door for a political settlement in Bangladesh.
The broadcast. coming soon after the break of the news of shipment of U.S. arms to Pakistan, may have put the Americans in an embarrassing position, but there is no sing that Washigton is contemplating reversal of its policy to force the hands of the Pakistani dictator.
The U.S. Ambassador to New Delhi, Mr. Keating, is known to be highly critical of Washington’s Pakistan policy especially in the context of the developments in Bangladesh and the genocide being perpetrated there by the West Pakistani Army.
He has gone to the USA for consultations and is expected here in time for Mr. Kissinger’s visit. Mr. Keating’s arguments have apparently made no dent in Washington’s stance.
Reference: Hindustan Standard 06.07.1971