The seriousness of the disclosures by Mr. Tad Szulc of the New York Times cannot be over emphasized. These shipments of arms to the Government of Pakistan are in direct violation of U.S. policy, as declared and defined by the Nixon administration.
In a letter to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on April 23, 1971, the Department of State explicitly stated that—
We have been informed by the Department of Defense that no military items have been provided to the Government of Pakistan or its agents since the out-break of fighting in East Pakistan on March 25 and nothing is now scheduled for such delivery.
Mr. Szulc's revelation contradicts the State Department's official statement of American policy, raising new questions about the credibility of this administration.
At this point, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following documents be printed in the Record:
First, Mr. Szulc's article from the New York Times.
Second, A bill of lading from the National Shipping Corp. of Karachi, sent to the Embassy in Pakistan, dated April 8, 1971, covering shipment of military goods aboard the Pakistani ship Sunderbans, which sailed from New York on May 8.
Third, A similar bill of lading, from the same corporation, covering shipments of additional military items on the Sunderbans, dated April 16.
Fourth, A copy of the deck receipt, from East-West Shipping Agencies, Inc., to the Defense Procurement Division of the Embassy of Pakistan, dated May 21, listing military items received for shipment to Pakistan, apparently on the Padma.
Fifth, A copy of a letter I today sent to President Nixon, requesting that he take necessary steps to enforce his declared policy.
[From the New York Times, June 22, 1971]
U.S. MILITARY GOODS SENT TO PAKISTAN DESPITE BAN
(By Tad Szulc)
WASHINGTON, June 21.-A freighter flying the flag of Pakistan was preparing today to sail from New York for Karachi with a cargo of United States military equipment for Pakistan, apparently in violation of the Administration's officially proclaimed ban on such shipments.
Senior State Department officials, in response to inquiries, acknowledged that at least one other ship was now on the way from the United States to Pakistan carrying what they described as “foreign military sales” items.
These items, they indicated, came from excess Defense Department stocks and apparently were shipped as a result of confusion within the Administration as to how the three-month-old ban on shipments of military equipment to Pakistan should be applied.
