Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXV, South Asia

527. Letter From President Johnson to King Zaher¹

Washington, January 2, 1964.

Your Majesty:

I have asked my good friend, Sargent Shriver,² to bring you my warm personal greetings. He will of course be looking into the activities of the Peace Corps, but I particularly wanted him to have the opportunity to meet with you.

All of us have watched with admiration the accelerated pace of Afghan economic and political advance under your wise direction. Your friends were also very pleased when normal relations were restored between your country and your neighbor, Pakistan.

I regret that a mission abroad prevented me from seeing you and Her Majesty in Washington. However, President Kennedy told me of the great pleasure your visit gave him and of the candid and fruitful discussions he had with you. While you and I share a common loss at his passing, let us build together on the friendly relationship you and he began. Should you have any thoughts you would like me to have, I hope you will speak as freely to Mr. Shriver as you would to me.

I have asked Sargent Shriver to convey to you our deep appreciation for your warm welcome to the 33 Peace Corps Volunteers in your country. Since its birth under President Kennedy, I have regarded the Peace Corps as one of the most imaginative instruments ever devised for capturing the idealism of youth and putting it to work in the cause of world peace and understanding.

Our Volunteers have benefitted enormously from their experience in your country. The United States will also benefit as they return, with broader horizons and greater understanding of the world, to take their places in our society. They will add a new dimension to American life. I only hope that they have contributed in some small way to the well-being of your people and to their understanding of us.

Please accept my thanks for your receiving Sargent Shriver, and rest assured of the continued great interest of the United States in the independence and prosperity of your country.³

Sincerely,

Lyndon B. Johnson

1. Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Special Head of State Correspondence, Afghanistan, 11/23/63–10/1/66. No classification marking.
2. Peace Corps Director R. Sargent Shriver was in Kabul January 21–22 during a trip to several Middle East and South Asian countries. Documentation on Shriver’s trip is in National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1964–66, POL 7 US/SHRIVER.
3. In his reply of April 15, King Zaher assured the President of his “sincere desire to maintain our existing friendship on a basis of mutual understanding and goodwill.” (Ibid., POL AFG–US)