Memorandum from Secretary of State George C. Marshall to President Harry S. Truman

CONFIDENTIAL DECLASSIFIED E. O. 11652, Sec. 3(E) and 5(D) or (E) Dept. of State letter, 3-15-25 By NLT- He , NARS Date 11-6-75 March 11, 1948 MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT Subject: Suspension of Export of Arms, Ammunition, and Other Military Material to India and Pakistan The Department has recently been approached by repre- sentatives of India and Pakistan with a view to the purchase and export to these countries of military material requir- ing export licensing. It is expected that India and Pakistan will make further requests of this nature in the future. Careful consideration has been given by the appropriate officials of the Department to the advisability of allowing military materials to be shipped to India and Pakistan at this time, and the tentative conclusion has been reached that in view of the tense situation prevailing in the Indiansubcontinent as a result of disputes over Kashmir and other issues, which each party has declared to consti- tute threats to international peace, licenses should not be issued for the export of military material to either India or Pakistan until the situation becomes more clarified. The Department further believes that a comparable policy should be adopted with regard to the transfer, retransfer, and sales of military items under the control of the Office of the Foreign Liquidation Commissioner insofar as India and Pakistan are concerned, unless evidence is produced to show that such materials are intended for civilian or com- mercial use in India and Pakistan. It is not proposed to establish a formal embargo with the publicity which such action would entail. The foregoing policy 1s consistent with the attitude taken by this Government in the deliberations on the India- Pakistan question in the Security Council of the United Nations, in that United States representative has emphasized that the Kanna . SERVICE" NATIONAL RECORDE ARCHIVES AND . CONFIDENTIAL