Liaquat Ali Khan invited to visit Russia

On the evening of June 8, 1949, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Sarzafarullah Khan revealed in a press conference that the Russian government had invited the Prime Minister of Pakistan and Begum Liaquat Ali Khan to come to Russia and that the Prime Minister had accepted the invitation, however, It has not been decided when the Prime Minister will visit Russia.

About two and a half weeks ago, Liaquat Ali Khan went to Egypt with his wife Rana Liaquat Ali Khan, at the end of which they also stopped in Tehran for a day. The Ambassador of Pakistan in Tehran, Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan, organized a dinner in his honor during which the Russian Minister of Affairs Ali Abu, appointed in Tehran, had a light chat with Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan and Rana Liaquat Ali Khan.

Venkat Ramani has written in his book ‘America’s Role in Pakistan’: ‘On June 2, 1949, the Soviet Nazim-al-Amour in Tehran verbally extended an official invitation to Pakistani Ambassador Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan for Liaquat Ali Khan’s visit to Moscow. The manner in which this invitation came was somewhat unusual and certainly strange.’

Two weeks ago, when the Pakistani Prime Minister was on a visit to Iran, a Soviet diplomat asked Begum Liaquat Ali Khan if she and her husband were interested in visiting the Soviet Union. Begum Sahib’s answer was affirmative. When this invitation was received, Liaquat Ali Khan immediately accepted it, albeit in a somewhat unusual manner.

Later he said in a statement, “Pakistan cannot wait, it must accept friends wherever it finds them.” Begum Liaquat Ali Khan told an officer of the American Embassy, ​​”Truman did not consider us worthy of an invitation to Washington, but Stalin invited us to Moscow.”

The background of Begum Liaquat Ali Khan’s statement was that Truman had invited Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to come to America. Jawaharlal Nehru was known more globally than Liaquat Ali Khan and as an intellectual and thinker his status was also much higher than Liaquat Ali Khan. Liaquat Ali Khan understood this situation very well and wanted Truman to invite him to come to America, but it happened that he received Stalin’s invitation before Truman.

According to Venkat Ramani: ‘Washington received the news without fear or anger. However, an ‘interesting coincidence’ happened that the day after the Soviet Minister of Affairs invited the Pakistani ambassador to Iran, Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan, to visit Liaquat Ali Khan, the very next day, the US State Department sent two lakhs of 75 mm ammunition. Accepted the request to transfer round Pakistan, this request of Pakistan was pending since April 1949.

Venkat Ramani has written that ‘After informing Pakistan of this decision, Washington could have trusted that Pakistan’s wise rulers could sense the difference between the gains and mere expectations.’

Stalin fixed August 14, 1949 as the date for Liaquat Ali Khan’s visit to Moscow, but Liaquat Ali Khan excused himself by saying that Pakistan’s Independence Day celebrations would be celebrated on that day, in which his participation was necessary and if possible If possible, this visit should be postponed for a few days, but now the Soviet Union has become silent and despite the efforts of Foreign Secretary Ikramullah and Pakistan’s Ambassador in Tehran, Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan, the Soviet authorities have postponed the next date of the visit. Not determined.

Also read: Begum Rana, whose ticket sales went to Liaquat Ali Khan

When Liaquat Ali Khan accepted the invitation to visit the Soviet Union, the Americans also began to give importance to Pakistan, although they were clearly inclined towards India earlier. This change in his behavior was also noticed by Pakistan’s ambassador to America, Mirza Abul Hasan Isfahani. On September 7, 1949, he wrote a letter to the Prime Minister of Pakistan. This address is of great importance in the context of how great powers, in view of their interests, change their attitude.

Mirza Abul Hasan Isfahani wrote to Liaquat Ali Khan: ‘You have presented a masterpiece of strategy by accepting the invitation to visit Moscow. Until a few months ago we were able to get nothing but a few sweet words from middle level officials of the (US) State Department. We were just accepted as good boys, boys who would neither wink at Communism nor wink at the Left.

‘Our country was not considered worthy of serious attention. On the other hand, the US government paid a lot of attention to India. She was willing to do anything to please India, but after she accepted the invitation to Moscow, Pakistan overnight became important in the eyes of the US government. Now she is trying her best to dispel the impression that America is biased towards India. Efforts are also being made to allay our doubts and convince us that we will be treated fairly and given the attention we deserve.’

According to Venkat Ramani, Isfahani did not mention which key member of the US government had contacted him. Thus, we can conclude that the attempt to satisfy them must have been made by the ‘middle officials of the State Department’, who previously did not consider them worthy of attention. Top Officials Still Communism Triumphs in China, China. He was entangled in the geopolitical implications of the emergence of the Soviet bloc and, above all, the consequences of the Soviet Union’s acquisition of a nuclear capability.

Begum Liaquat Ali Khan told an officer of the American embassy, ​​”Truman did not consider us worthy of an invitation to Washington, but Stalin invited us to Moscow.”

On October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong announced the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. On October 5, 1949, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru arrived on a visit to the United States, organized by Vijay Lakshmi Pandit, the Indian ambassador to the United States, who was also Nehru’s younger sister.

US officials felt that Nehru’s conception of fundamental problems and ways of dealing with them were completely different from those of the Americans, and he proved to be a disappointment to American leaders. Nehru’s views on the early recognition of the People’s Republic of China were not such as to excite the American authorities, and his passionate explanation of India’s position on Kashmir was sentimental and irrational to the American authorities.

On November 4, 1949, US Secretary of State Dean Aitchison suggested to President Truman that it would be appropriate to invite Liaquat Ali Khan to visit America as well. He wrote that ‘considering the sensitivity of Pakistanis, it would be much more desirable that instead of Nehru, Liaquat Ali Khan should also be invited for a visit.’

Aitchison also wrote that ‘the official visit will provide an opportunity to discuss topics of mutual interest and create a positive impression throughout the Muslim world.’

On November 7, 1949, Truman approved Aitchison’s recommendation, just two days later, Pakistani officials in Karachi told a correspondent of the American news agency United Press that Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan’s visit to Moscow had been postponed. The correspondent was also told that the news was for overseas publication only.

On November 23, 1949, President Truman through Assistant Secretary of State George C. Magee formally conveyed the invitation to Liaquat Ali Khan, which the Prime Minister of Pakistan announced to accept on December 10, 1949.

Also read this article about Liaquat Ali Khan: When Liaquat Ali Khan Ignored Stalin’s Invitation to Visit Russia

A few months later, on May 3, 1950, the Pakistani Prime Minister arrived in Washington DC in the US President’s special plane, accompanied by his Begum Ms. Rana Liaquat Ali Khan.

The Prime Minister and his wife visited nine major cities including the US capital, including New York, Cambridge, Chicago, Kansas City, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Houston and New Orleans. The Prime Minister of Pakistan was warmly welcomed everywhere and the Prime Minister expressed his country and its aspirations in simple and dignified terms everywhere.

In his speeches, he did not make any reference to the Soviet-US Cold War, nor did he give any special indication of Pakistan’s desire to be associated with the US and the free world. He clearly said that Pakistan has accepted the established fact and recognized China in view of facilitating the flow of trade and this is his sympathy with the nationalism that is developing in this part of the world. This collection of speeches of Liaquat Ali Khan has been published under the title ‘Pakistan, the Heart of Asia’.

The official visit of the Prime Minister and his wife continued till May 26, 1950. Both of them stayed in America in personal capacity till the first week of July 1950. On July 3, 1950, the Prime Minister arrived in London from New York, after which he returned to his homeland on July 12, 1950, about two and a half months later, via Canada and Great Britain.