P 221110Z FEB 72
FM AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3182
BT
ISLAMABAD 1675

SUBJ: BANGLADESH RECOGNITION

REF: ISLAMABAD 1113 AND 1374

1. SUMMARY: BHUTTO HAS SUGGESTED THAT WE MIGHT WISH TO DELAY ANY ANNOUNCEMENT ON BANGLADESH RECOGNITION UNTIL MARCH 17. END SUMMARY

2. FONSEC SULTAN KHAN CALLED ME IN FEB 22 AND SAID HE HAD BEEN ASKED BY PRES BHUTTO TO CONVEY TO ME A RECENT THOUGHT ON TIMING OF US RECOGNITION OF BANGLADESH. FON SEC SAID BHUTTO HAD STRESSED THAT HE WAS IN NO WAY GOING BACK ON VIEWS HE HAD EXPRESSED IN OUR PREVIOUS CONVERSATIONS THIS SUBJECT. THEY HAD NOTED PRES NIXON'S STATEMENT AT FEB 10 PRESS CONFERENCE TO EFFECT THAT US DECISION ON RECOGNITION SHOULD NOT BE EXPECTED BEFORE PRES' RETURN FROM CHINA. THAT MEANT THAT WE WOULD NOT BE RECOGNIZING BANGLADESH AT LEAST UNTIL SOME TIME IN MARCH.

3. SINCE BHUTTO'S CONVERSATIONS WITH ME THIS SUBJECT, FONSEC WENT ON, THERE HAD BEEN ANNOUNCEMENT BY SHEIKH MUJIB AND MRS. GANDHI THAT INDIAN FORCES WOULD BE WITHDRAWN FROM BANGLADESH BY MARCH 25. THAT HAD BEEN SUPERSEDED BY LATER ANNOUNCEMENT THAT INDIAN FORCES WOULD BE WITHDRAWN BY MARCH 17 WHEN MRS. GANDHI IS TO VISIT DACCA.

4. FONSEC SAID BHUTTO WOULD LIKE US TO CONSIDER WHETHER IT WOULD NOT BE DESIRABLE TO WITHHOLD ANY USG ANNOUNCEMENT ON RECOGNITION UNTIL MARCH 17. AT EARLIEST. OUR ANNOUNCEMENT COULD THEN BE LINKED WITH WITHDRAWL OF INDIAN TROOPS AND, IN THAT CONTEXT, WOULD RECEIVE EASIER PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE IN PAKISTAN.
 
5. FONSEC THEN REITERATED THAT BHUTTO WAS IN NO WAY GOING BACK ON HIS EARLIER SUGGESTION TO US AND THAT HE WOULD FIND IT "PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE" IF WE FELT WE SHOULD GO AHEAD AND ANNOUNCE RECOGNITION PRIOR TO MARCH 17. IF DECISION TO THAT EFFECT HAD ALREADY COMMUNICATED ITS INTENTIONS TO INTERESTED PARTIES, BHUTTO WANTED US TO KNOW THAT THAT WAS ALL RIGHT WITH HIM.

6. FONSEC STATED THERE WAS NO CHANGE WHATSOEVER FROM POSITION WHICH BHUTTO HAD COMMUNICATED TO ME REGARDING OUR ESTABLISHING CONTACT WITH BANGLADESH OFFICIALS. SPECIFICALLY, THIS INCLUDED TELLING MUJIB DIRECTLY, AS SOON AS WE WERE READY TO DO SO, OF OUR INTENTION TO RECOGNIZE BANGLADESH AT AN EARLY DATE.

7. IN ANSWER HIS QUERY, I TOLD FONSEC I DID NOT KNOW WHETHER RECOGNITION QUESTION WOULD COME UP IN PRES NIXON'S TALKS IN PEKING. I SAID THAT I WOULD, IN ANY EVENT, REPORT PROMPTLY MESSAGE WHICH BHUTTO HAD NOW CONVEYED THROUGH FONSEC.

8. COMMENT: ASSUMING WE MAY WISH TO ACCOMMODATE TO BHUTTO ON LATEST SUGGESTION ON TIMING, ESPECIALLY IF FIRM DECISION THAT POINT NOT YET TAKEN, DESIRABILITY OF OUR INFORMING MUJIB OF OUR INTENTIONS AT AN EARLY DATE MERITS CAREFUL CONSIDERATION.
SOBER