Memorandum of Conversation with Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Prime Minister of Afghanistan Sardar Shah Mahmud Khan, Charge d'Affaires of the Embassy of Afghanistan Abdul Hamid Aziz, George McGhee, and Elbert Mathews

CONFIDENTIAL 8/5 DEPARTMENT OF STATE 7033 DECLASSIFIED E. O. 11652, Sec. 3(E) and >(D) Oir Dept. of State letter, 5-12-21 Memorandum of Conversation 822 Bug NLT. HC a MARS Das 6.24.76 DATE: April 23, 1951 SUBJECT: . RERVICEN RECORDS AND Interview with Afghan Prime Minister 113 PARTICIPANTS: Sardar Shah Mahmud Khan - Prime Minister of Afghanistan Abdul Hamid Aziz - Charge d'Affaires, Embassy of Afghanistan The Secretary Mr. McGhee - Assistant Secretary Mr. Mathews - Director, Office of South Asian Affairs COPIES TO: s/s NEA E DRN CIA Embassy Kabul Embassy Karachi u. s. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 16-61120-1 After appropriate remarks of courtesy, the Prime Minister referred to this Government's proposal of November 6, 1950 to the Governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan looking toward an improvement of relations between them. He pointed out that his Government was deeply grateful for the in- terest which the United States had shown and had accepted our proposal promptly. There has, unhappily, been no reply from Pakistan. I said that we had just received Pakistan's answer. The Government of Pakistan accepted the first three points of our proposal relating to the prevention of propaganda, the prevention of incidents among the tribes, and the ex- change of Ambassadors. With respect to the fourth point, which proposed a meeting of representatives of the two governments without an agenda or preconditions, Pakistan had indicated that it would be prepared to partici- pate in such a meeting if prior discussions through the newly appointed Ambassadors showed that the meeting would be fruitful. Mr. McGhee commented that as this departed to some extent from our original proposal, we could not consider the Pakistan reply an acceptance of our proposal unless the Afghan Government were disposed to accept the Pakistan counter-suggestion. The Prime Minister remarked that his Government had exchanged Ambassadors with Pakistan before but that discussions through these regular diplomatic channels had been without avail. He feared, therefore, that the Pakistan counter-proposal would lead to the same unsatisfactory situa- tion with the result that the Ambassadors would have to be withdrawn and that there would be no lasting improvement in Afghan-Pakistan relations. He stated that although he was Prime Minister, he could not by himself indicate whether his Government would or would not find the Pakistan counter- proposal acceptable. It would have to be carefully considered by the Afghan Cabinet. I said that the Department was transmitting the Pakistan reply to Kabul in order that our Embassy might transmit it to his Govern- ment. GONFIDENTIAL Mr. McGhee