HC Deb 16 December 1971 vol 828 cc848-9
Q5. Mr. Stonehouse

asked the Prime Minister if he will invite President Yahya Khan to visit London.

The Prime Minister

I have at present no plans to do so, although I continue to be in close and frequent contact with the President of Pakistan, as well as with the Prime Minister of India.

Mr. Stonehouse

Will the Prime Minister acknowledge that his genuine attempts to influence President Yahya Khan have been completely ineffective, but will he make one more attempt to secure the release of Mujibur Rahman so that he can go back to Dacca to lead the new country Bangladesh? Furthermore, in the light of the situation today and the complete collapse of the military rule in East Pakistan, will be Government now recognise Bangladesh so that we can build a bridge to Bangladesh and play our part in the great humanitarian job of building up that country after the horror of the last eight months?

The Prime Minister

The political action taken by the President of Pakistan and the announcements he made about action to be taken in December did not deal with the situation. Obviously, that I regret. We made every attempt in discussions with the President of Pakistan and the Prime Minister of India to bring about a political solution to the problem. Events this morning have now shown that there is a military solution. We put forward last night at the United Nations a resolution, with considerable backing—not complete backing—which we hope can be the basis of a solution to the problems as they now exist.

Mr. Wilkinson

Will my right hon. Friend think seriously about the question of further arms supplies to India because, to my knowledge, no arms have been supplied from this country to Pakistan since 1965 and we are, quite rightly, trying to be strictly neutral? If hostilities are to be continued on the western front, it would be a serious matter if one belligerent only were to receive arms supplies from this country.

The Prime Minister

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary explained the situation very carefully in his statement to the House earlier this week. Now that we have put forward a resolution in the United Nations which covers a wide area of political solution and the ending of the whole conflict, we should try to get the widest possible support for the resolution and see it carried.