1971-10-05
By Benjamin Welles
Page: 16
WASHINGTON, Oct. 4—Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, exhibited documents today that he described as indicating that the Defense Department was offering military materiel to Pakistan as recently as July 20, despite State Department testimony to Congress June 28 that such offers ended March 25.
Mr. Kennedy introduced two Pentagon contract forms obtained by the General Accounting Office, the Congressional watchdog agency, at a hearing before his judiciary subcommittee on refugees.
Maurice J. Williams, Deputy Administrator of the Agency for International Development, and Christopher Van Hollen, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near East and South Asian Affairs, who had testified on relief operations in East Pakistan and India, both appeared unable to explain the Pentagon's dealings as late as Sept. 15 with the Pakistan Government's local arms procurement office here, in view of the requested suspension of such dealings.
Since March 25, when the Pakistani Army moved to crush a movement for political autonomy in East Pakistan, approximately nine million East Pakistani refugees have fled to adjoining India and the United States has appropriated nearly $100‐million to help sustain them.
It has raised another $150‐million to assist East Pakistanis who did not flee. Last weekend President Nixon urged Congress to appropriate $250‐million more for “humanitarian” relief for both groups.
The documents exhibited by Mr. Kennedy—copies of which were distributed to the press—included the following:
¶An “offer and acceptance,” signed by COL Gerald E. Van Vleet, United States Air Force, covering $9‐million worth of spare parts for such military aircraft as B‐57's, C‐130's, F‐86's F‐104's, H‐43's, T‐33's and T‐37's. The “offer and acceptance” was signed June 1 by Wing Comdr. M. Yaqub, of the Pakistan Air Force.
¶An “offer and acceptance” signed by Capt. C. B. Adams, United States Navy, head of the Pentagon's military sales branch, foreign military assistance and sales division, “by direction of the chief of naval operations.”
It listed $1,000 worth of cartridges, described as “explosive properties,” for a mine‐sweeping cutter. The document was stamped: “Validated and approved for implementation 20 July 1971.”
It was signed by Lieut. Col. M. W. Hashmi, Pakistani defense procurement attaché. The offer was marked for expiration Sept. 15, 1971, unless both the United States and Pakistan agreed to extend it.
The Defense Department referred comment on Senator Kennedy's disclosures to the State Department. There, Charles W. Bray 3d, the State Department spokesman, said:
“The important thing to bear in mind is that no munitions of this kind can be exported without a license issued by the Department of State. We have issued no licenses covering any of the materiel in the letters of offer and therefore this materiel cannot be exported.”
Mr. Van Hollen said that the United States was still receiving military equipment requests from Pakistan. He said that the Pentagon was processing the requests as it had before the March 25 suspension.
He reiterated testimony that he had given the Kennedy subcommittee June 28, saying that as of March 25 the United States had taken three “cut‐off” steps.
Mr. Van Hollen said no new licenses for arms shipments had been issued since then by the State Department's office of munitions control.
Moreover, he said, licenses valid as of March 25 that have since expired have not been renewed—even though the materiel in question could not be delivered to ports and shipped to Pakistan for one reason or another.
Finally, he said, the United States has held up since March 25 heavy‐arms shipments planned under President Nixon's October, 1970, “one‐time” exception to the formal United States embargo on arms to Pakistan or India. The embargo was imposed by President Johnson during the 1965 India-Pakistan war.
Since March 25, Mr. Van Hollen testified, $3.8‐million worth of military equipment has been approved for shipment to Pakistan because the licenses were valid before the cut‐off date. In addition, he said, $2.3‐million worth of previously licensed military equipment is “still in the pipeline,” either en route or awaiting shipment.
In response to questions by Senator Hiram L. Fong, Republican of Hawaii, Mr. Van Hollen said a cut‐off of all arms would have appeared to be a sanction against Pakistan and might have jeopardized United States influence with the Pakistani Government.
Senator Kennedy, noting that Mr. Van Hollen and Mr. Williams had both said they were unfamiliar with the Pentagon “offer and acceptance” documents, suggested that the Defense Department was carrying on military equipment negotiations with the Pakistani Government without full coordination with the State Department.
“Anyone who has studied basic English or who has studied basic contracts in law knows that these are valid contracts,” he declared. “This seems to be merely the tip of the iceberg. What else is going on?”