HC Deb 30 November 1965 vol 721 c1212
11. Sir J. Smyth

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what grants or loans she has made to India, Pakistan and Kashmir over the past eight months, and what further aid she is contemplating.

Mrs. Castle

Since March this year, two loans together amounting to £15 million have been made to India. No loans to Pakistan were made in this period. There is no separate British aid programme to Kashmir. A further loan of £4 million to India and a loan for a similar sum to Pakistan are expected to be signed shortly.

Sir J. Smyth

Will the Minister try to find some way to assist Kashmir, which is a depressed police State, and rather a blot on the escutcheon of the British Commonwealth of Nations?

Mrs. Castle

That, of course, is not a matter for my Department.