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WASHINGTON: The US would use its influence with India and the Soviet Union to "restrain" them, President Richard Nixon had in 1974 assured a visiting Pakistani Minister who raised concerns about New Delhi's nuclear test, defence budget and arms purchase from the USSR.
Nixon had also told Pakistan's Minister of State for Defence and Foreign Affairs Aziz Ahmed that the US would look into its proposal of nuclear powers giving a guarantee to the non-nuclear powers against a nuclear attack, but might not be able to put it in a treaty, according to newly-released US official documents.
In fact, the US President said he had "no answers now" with a promise to "develop answers" to most of the concerns raised by his visitor from Islamabad on such issues as the intentions of India and the erstwhile Soviet Union.
"Our prisoners are back and we thought we could move to normalisation with India. There still were a couple of problems. India's defence budget is the highest ever; the Soviet Union ships arms to India," Ahmed had said.
He said Pakistan was not "surprised" but "shocked" with the Indian nuclear test and felt the Soviet Union will enable New Delhi to build nuclear weapons.
"The timing of the explosion is interesting. The Prime Minister was in Peking a week ago. The PRC (People's Republic of China) said they are ready now to establish relations with all states in the subcontinent. Why this timing? Is the Soviet Union or Mrs Gandhi trying to prevent better relations with the PRC," he said, according to a memorandum of the meeting.
Nixon had said "it is better for the US to have some influence with India rather than leave it to the Soviet Union" and that "we will use our influence with India and the Soviet Union to restrain them."
Nixon had also told Pakistan's Minister of State for Defence and Foreign Affairs Aziz Ahmed that the US would look into its proposal of nuclear powers giving a guarantee to the non-nuclear powers against a nuclear attack, but might not be able to put it in a treaty, according to newly-released US official documents.
In fact, the US President said he had "no answers now" with a promise to "develop answers" to most of the concerns raised by his visitor from Islamabad on such issues as the intentions of India and the erstwhile Soviet Union.
"Our prisoners are back and we thought we could move to normalisation with India. There still were a couple of problems. India's defence budget is the highest ever; the Soviet Union ships arms to India," Ahmed had said.
He said Pakistan was not "surprised" but "shocked" with the Indian nuclear test and felt the Soviet Union will enable New Delhi to build nuclear weapons.
"The timing of the explosion is interesting. The Prime Minister was in Peking a week ago. The PRC (People's Republic of China) said they are ready now to establish relations with all states in the subcontinent. Why this timing? Is the Soviet Union or Mrs Gandhi trying to prevent better relations with the PRC," he said, according to a memorandum of the meeting.
Nixon had said "it is better for the US to have some influence with India rather than leave it to the Soviet Union" and that "we will use our influence with India and the Soviet Union to restrain them."
