Memorandum from Secretary of State Dean Acheson to President Harry S. Truman

SECRET October 23, 1951 MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT Subject: Retention of Dr. Frank P. Graham as United Nations Representative for India and Pakistan (Kashmir Dispute) Dr. Frank P. Graham, United Nations Representative for India and Pakistan, has an appointment with you at 9:45 in the morning of October 23. On October 15, Dr. Graham submitted a report on the progress of his negotiations directed toward achieving a demilitarization of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, under his terms of reference contained in the Security Council resolution of 30 March 1951. He stated that his negotiations with the parties caused him to believe there were possibilities that the two governments could reach agreement and settle this difficult dispute. He further recommended that the Council might wish to instruct the United Nations Representative to continue his negotiations and report his progress. It is expected that there will be another Security Council meeting on Kashmir at the earliest possible date following the arrival of Council members in Paris. The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, was assassinated on October 15, thus removing from the already tense India-Pakistan relations one of the principal stablizing factors in the situation. Unless the Security Council or Dr. Graham takes action in the near future which appears to offer hope to Pakistan of a settlement reason- ably favorable to its interests, the Pakistan Government may find itself forced by public opinion to take direct action in Kashmir which would lead to hostilities with India. Dr. Graham recently told Ambassador Gross in New York that he believed the Indo-Pakistan sub- continent was the area of greatest danger in terms of the commence- ment of World War III. TATE s ARCHIVES RECORDS Dr. Graham was able to win and maintain the confidence of the B.S. Government of both India and Pakistan. His continued activity in the Kashmir dispute would be one of the most favorable factors for DECLASSIFIED lessening STATE LTR. Authority By He NLT Date 551243 SECRET