Pakistan and the birth of the regional pacts in Asia, 1947-1956

• Main Author: Bajwa, Farooq Naseem
• Published: London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) 1990
• Subjects: 327.5491
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.645231

In August 1947, the British Raj was divided into two seperate states of India and Pakistan. Relations between the two countries were strained from the very start with a dispute over the princely states, particularly Kashmir. Fighting started within a few months of independence and the dispute was referred to the United Nations. Pakistan was a country divided by over a thousand miles into East and West wings, forming the largest Muslim state in the world, both in terms of population and size. It was this position which first attracted the attention of the United States. The Cold War had descended on Europe with a vengeance and threatened to break into a 'hot war' over Korea in 1950. The fall of China to the communists had led the American strategic planners to pin their hopes on India to show a non-communist example to the world. The Pakistan government indicated some willingness to help the west if it was given a security guarantee against India. It was a reluctance to antagonise India which prevented any military understanding between Pakistan and the United States. By 1952, a new administration was in control both in America and Pakistan. The balance that Liaquat Ali Khan, the first Prime Minister of Pakistan had tried to keep, died with him in late 1951. The team of Eisenhower and Dulles were 'Cold War Warriors' to the core, and so a closer understanding was inevitable. Military aid to Pakistan was initiated in 1954 after the Pakistan government had signed a pact with Turkey and a Mutual Assistance agreement with the United States. The role that Pakistan could play in any 'mutual assistance' was to provide the men to fight in any conflict in her region. After some reluctance Pakistan also adhered to two further pacts, the South East Asia Treaty Organistion and the Baghdad Pact. How and why Pakistan joined these pacts will be looked at, with the hectic and complicted diplomatic shuttles between London, Washington and Karachi using British and American archives. The effect this had on Pakistan's foreign policy will be examined, with Suez as the case study.