1962-71: Transition
Rethinking about the Alignment Policy
Pakistan's policy-makers began a review of their alignment with the U.S. in the early 60s as strains manifested in their relations. Two major developments contributed to this. First,
Pakistan was perturbed by the Soviet threat of retaliation when it downed an American spy plane, U-2, which had taken off from Badaber. Second, the importance of land bases declined because the United States developed ICBM and nuclear submarines fitted with missiles. Furthermore, the Kennedy administration, installed in January 1961,cultivated India and projected it as a counterweight to China. Pakistan viewed this shift in American policy with concern. In July, 1961, President Ayub Khan, on a visit to the United States, cautioned his hosts against the changes in their policy towards South Asia and highlighted the importance of Pakistan by suggesting that “if there is real trouble, there is no other country in Asia on whom you will be able to count. The only people who will stand by you are the people of Pakistan, provided you are also prepared to stand by them.” Despite Ayub Khan's pleadings, the U.S. continued with its policy of cultivating India in total disregard to Pakistan's concerns. The U.S. and a number of other Western states rushed weapons and military equipment to India after the Sino-Indian border war in October 1962. They also conducted joint military exercises with India and offered a nuclear umbrella to India. Pakistan was perturbed by these developments. What baffled the Pakistani leaders most was that Pakistan was supplied military equipment in the 50s only after it joined the U.S. sponsored military pacts which incurred diplomatic cost for Pakistan in terms of its relations with the developing countries and a number of Muslim states. However, India was not asked to make any security related commitment in return for arms transfers.
Improving Relations with the Soviet Union
Disappointed by the change in the U.S. policy, the Pakistani leaders decided to review Pakistan’s alignment with the West. Initially, they decided to diversify their interaction in the international system by improving ties with the socialist countries on mutually beneficial considerations. Pakistan took a number of steps to improve its relations with the Soviet Union and China during 1961-63. Pakistan and the Soviet Union entered into a number of agreements for economic and technical cooperation. In 1961, the Soviets offered, for the first time, credit and technical assistance for oil exploration in Pakistan. New avenues of cooperation were explored during the visits of Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and President Ayub Khan to Moscow in January and April 1965 respectively. Ayub Khan was the first head of Pakistani state to visit the Soviet Union. His visit produced several agreements covering trade, machinery for oil exploration, and cultural exchanges. The Soviet Union consented to assist Pakistan in implementing 30 development projects during the Third Five Year Plan (1965-70). By mid-1960s the Soviet Union adopted a balanced approach towards Pakistan-India disputes, including the Kashmir problem, and urged the two sides to settle their problems amicably. They maintained neutrality towards the Rann of Kutch war between Pakistan and India in April 1965.A similar attitude was adopted when a full-fledged war broke out between Pakistan and India in September. The Soviet Prime Minister, Alexi Kosygin, offered help to resolve the problems arising out of the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War. President Ayub Khan and Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri met in Tashkent in January 1966 on the invitation of the Soviet Prime Minister and signed a peace agreement, commonly known as the Tashkent Declaration of January 1966 for normalization of their bilateral relations in the aftermath of the 1965 war. Ayub Khan undertook his third visit to the Soviet Union in October 1967, and the Soviet Premier, Alexi Kosygin, visited Pakistan in April 1968 and May 1969. They affirmed their desire to extend cooperation between the two countries in economic, cultural, and other fields. Two Pakistani military delegations visited the Soviet Union in June 1966 and July 1968 and the Soviets supplied some weapons and transport in 1968-70. The Soviet Defense Minister, Marshal Andrei Grechkov, visited Pakistan in March 1969 which underlined the transformed nature of Pakistan-Soviet relations.
Improving Relations with China
Pakistan's relations with China improved more rapidly during the same period. They signed several agreements in 1963 to expand their bilateral relations. These included an agreement on trade, commerce and shipping in January 1963, a border agreement for demarcation of Pakistan-China boundary in March 1963, an air services agreement in August, and a barter trade agreement in September. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) resumed its regular air
service to china on April 29, 1964. A similar air service was started for Moscow in the same month. Pakistan began to plead for the seating for china in the UN and supported China in its efforts to neutralize American efforts to isolate it at the international level. Chinese were equally supportive of Pakistan's independence and territorial integrity. Zhou Enlai declared Chinese support to the right of self determination for the people of Kashmir during his visit to Pakistan in February 1964. They reaffirmed their solidarity with Pakistan during Ayub Khan's visit to Beijing in March 1965, and stood by Pakistan during the latter's war with India, first in the Rann of Kutch area (April-May 1965), and then the full-fledged armed conflict (September 1965). They also began to supply weapons and military equipment to Pakistan in early 1966. The scope of Pakistan-China cooperation continued to extend in the diplomatic, economic (including trade), security, and cultural fields in the subsequent years. The visits of Chinese President Liu Chao Chi, and Foreign Minister, Chen Yi (March 1966), Zhou Enlai (stopover visit in June 1966), President Yahya Khan (November 1970) and several senior military officers, showed that they attached importance to their bilateral relations, and consulted each other regularly on matters of mutual interest.
Diminishing Ties with the U.S.
The United States was unhappy over Pakistani's efforts to improve its relations with the Soviet Union and China. The United States described the Sino-Pakistan air agreement as “an unfortunate breach of the free world solidarity.” It advised Pakistan not to invite Zhou EnLai for an official visit in 1964. Pakistan did not listen to the U.S. advice. The latter retaliated by withdrawing the offer of financial assistance for the construction of a new airport at Dhaka; Ayub Khan's schedule visit to the U.S in April 1965 was postponed. The same happened with the meeting of the Aid-to-Pakistan Consortium which was to consider Pakistan's request for aid for the Third Five Year Plan. The divergence between the two states widened as Pakistan was unable to invoke any security arrangement with the United States during the course of its war with India in September 1965. The United States imposed an arms embargo on South Asia which adversely affected Pakistan's combat effectiveness because, unlike India, Pakistan's defense procurement was almost entirely American. The embargo was partly eased in March 1966 to allow the sale of non-lethal military equipment (i.e. trucks, medical and engineering supplies and communication items). One year later, the United States allowed the sale of spare parts for the military equipment supplied in the past. No new combat equipment was allowed to be sold to either country but Pakistan was provided with some arms and equipment during 1970-71 as a 'special one time exception' extended by President Nixon. A total embargo was re-imposed when a new war broke out between Pakistan and India in November 1971.Pakistan procured weapons and military equipment from several non-American sources. China was the most important source of supply of weapons in the post-1965 war period. Some equipment was secured through Iran and Turkey. It also secured weapons from France, Great Britain, West Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union. Pakistan also decided to pay more attention to indigenous production of weapons and defense equipment.
Pluralistic Perspective
Pakistan, thus, moved away from the policy of alignment with the West to an independent and pluralist perspective on foreign relations. It vowed to cultivate mutually advantageous bilateral relations with all states irrespective of their ideological disposition and argued that its interaction with one state would neither influence its relations with any other state nor were these ties directed against any particular state. Thus, while expanding its relations with the Soviet Union and China, it did not abandon its membership of the U.S. sponsored pacts, although their importance was downgraded. It was Pakistan's determination to pursue an independent foreign policy that it did not endorse Asian Collective Security System advocated by the Soviet Union in 1969. This proposal envisaged the establishment of a Soviet-oriented collectivity of states in the backdrop of the widening rift between the Soviet Union and China. Pakistan, having developed distaste for bloc politics, could not be inclined towards this proposal. Moreover, Pakistan had cultivated very friendly and cordial relations with China and it did not want to be a party to any political networking directly or indirectly aimed at China.
Relations with India
Pakistan's relations with India continued to be characterized by the conflicting national aspirations and mutual distrust. The Kashmir problem was the major stumbling block in the normalization of their relations. Six rounds of talks were held between the Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan on Kashmir during December 1962 and May 1963 on the initiate of the UK and the U.S. These talks proved inconclusive because the two sides refused to show any flexibility in their positions on Kashmir. Pakistan and India engaged in three wars during this period. The first war was limited to the Rann of Kutch, an area situated on the Sindh-Gujarat border, in April-May 1965. This was followed by a full-blown war in September 1965, involving three services of the armed forces. India and Pakistan again went to war against the backdrop of the civil strife in the then East Pakistan in November-December 1971. This war came to an end when Pakistani troops surrendered to Indian troop in East Pakistan on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan emerged as an independent state of Bangladesh.
Crisis in East Pakistan and International Response
The Soviets were disappointed by Pakistan's response to the Asian Collective Security Plan which brought about a degree of restraint in their interaction with Pakistan. They did not, therefore, hesitate to send a terse letter to President Yahya Khan after Pakistan embarked on military action in East Pakistan (Bangladesh) on March 25, 1971. The Soviets were also perturbed by Pakistan's role in bringing about Sino-American rapprochement in July 1971 which set the stage for U.S. President Nixon's visit to Beijing in February 1972. The Soviets perceived this as the beginning of a Sino-American understanding to their determent. Since Pakistan was instrumental to the establishment of these ties, the Soviets decided to fall back on India to pressure Pakistan. The Soviet foreign Minister visited New Delhi in August 1971 and signed the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation which encouraged India to adopt a more strident policy towards the civil strife in East Pakistan. India invoked Article 9 of this treaty in October to secure concrete Soviet support for its policy on the East Pakistan (Bangladesh) crisis. The Soviets not only extended diplomatic support but also airlifted arms and equipment to strengthen India's intervention policies in East Pakistan and its invasion in November 1971. Accusing Pakistan of resorting to aggression against India, the Soviet Union exercised veto power thrice in the UN Security Council on December 5, 6, and 13, 1971, to stall a ceasefire resolution, which gave India enough time to overrun East Pakistan. The United States and China did not endorse Pakistan's military action in East Pakistan but they avoided any public criticism of Pakistan's policies. Expressing support for the territorial integrity of Pakistan, the United States endeavored to encourage Pakistan to seek a political solution to the Bangladesh crisis. Similarly, China extended strong diplomatic support to Pakistan but advised for a political settlement of the problem.

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