Pak Threat May Embarrass U. K. Government
London July 24— Pakistan’s threat of leaving the Commonwealth, if implemented next month as Karachi reports suggest today would embarrass the British Government in its timing. although Whitehall continues to maintain a placid exterior on the issue.
while the Commonwealth is strictly a commodity of diminishing returns, it is in Britain’s interest first to be firmly in the Common Market before the association withers away. Any preemptive strike by Pakistan before parliament approves Britain’s membership of the Common Market would, therefore sever to highlight a virtual British turning away from the Commonwealth and prodvide an additional effective argument to the ani-marketeers.
One report form Karachi today says that a study group to investigate the effects of Pakistan leaving the Commonwealth had come to the conclusion that the advantage to the Commonwealth of British entry the Common Market would be nil. A second study is reported to have found that under Britain’s future immigrants would, in any case, be treated as aliens. These are the two issue which would affect Pakistan or for that matter India – leaving the Commonwealth.
Therefore, it would seem that Pakistan’s threat to leave the Commonwealth as a protest against London’s attitude to the East Bengal massacre is a more effective diplomatic weapon in Pakistan’s hands that Whitehall has chosen to acknowledge.
Reference: Hindustan Standard 25.7.1971