Eisenhower decides to arm Pakistan

Background

Pakistan had asked for American arms since 1947. A Pakistani delegation's request in 1948 was turned down while the Kashmir war continued, and later approaches produced only limited purchases¹. By late 1953, after visits by Secretary of State Dulles and Vice-President Nixon, the Eisenhower administration had come to see Pakistan as a useful partner in a "northern tier" of states facing the Soviet Union².

What happened

On 19 February 1954 Turkey and Pakistan announced that they would study ways of achieving closer collaboration, including on security. Six days later, on 25 February, the White House released a statement by the President announcing that the United States would provide military aid to Pakistan, describing regional groupings against aggression as the most effective means of ensuring security³.

The day before, the US ambassador in New Delhi, George V. Allen, had delivered a letter from Eisenhower to Prime Minister Nehru. Eisenhower wrote that he wanted Nehru to know of the decision before it became public and that it did not affect American friendship for India; the letter was published with the statement³.

Reactions

In Pakistan the decision was welcomed as the long-sought recognition of its importance. In India it was received with dismay. Nehru argued in a statement on 1 March 1954 that American arms for Pakistan would bring the Cold War to the subcontinent and alter the balance between the two neighbours⁴. American officials maintained that the aid was intended for defence against communist aggression; that difference of interpretation would run through the next decade⁵.

Why it mattered

The announcement opened the way for the Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement signed in May 1954 and for Pakistan's entry into SEATO and the Baghdad Pact. It also fixed a lasting pattern in India's view of the United States, and in Pakistan's expectations of what the alliance should deliver⁵.