Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume E–8, Documents on South Asia, 1973–1976

205. Memorandum From the Director of Central Intelligence Colby to the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)¹ ²

Washington, June 30, 1975.

SUBJECT:

• Arms Shipments to India and Pakistan During the First Half of 1975

REFERENCE:

• National Security Decision Memorandum 289, “US Military Supply Policy to Pakistan and India,” March 24, 1975, SECRET

1. In National Security Decision Memorandum 289, the President requested from the Director of Central Intelligence and the Secretary of Defense a semi-annual report (on June 30 and December 30 of each year) summarizing arms shipments to Pakistan and India from all sources. The President also requested that each report assess the prospective military capabilities of India and Pakistan, including nuclear capability as appropriate.

2. The attached memorandum is the first of these semi-annual reports. It covers the military imports of Pakistan and India during the first half of 1975 and the impact of such imports on the military balance between the two countries. A fuller discussion of the military capabilities and balance between India and Pakistan is provided in an annex.

3. The memorandum was prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State. It is concurred in by the Secretary of Defense.

W.E. Colby

Attachment

Interagency Intelligence Memorandum

Washington, June 27, 1975

SUBJECT:

• Arms Shipments to India and Pakistan During the First Half of 1975

KEY POINTS

• —India’s military imports during the first half of 1975 totalled $91 million compared to a total of $25 million For Pakistan.
  • —These imports have had no significant impact on the decisive military advantage that India holds over Pakistan.
  • —Neither country imported items which affected its nuclear capability.
• —The USSR continued to be India’s major source of military imports.
  • —In February, the Soviets and Indians signed a major new military aid agreement with an estimated value of at least $200 million and possibly as much as $500 million.
  • —Pakistan concluded no major new arms agreements during the first half of 1975, despite the lifting of the US arms embargo in February.

1. Source: Ford Library, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–131, NSDM 273–290. Top Secret; Noforn; No Dissem Abroad; Background Use Only; Controlled Dissem. Sent for information. The memorandum was prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense Information Agency, and the Bureau of Intelligence and Research of the Department of State. It was concurred in by the Secretary of Defense. Ten pages of detail and tables, an 11-page annex, and a distribution list are not printed.
2. Director of Central Intelligence Colby provided an Interagency Intelligence Memorandum on arms shipments to India and Pakistan for the first half of 1975 in a semi-annual report in compliance with instructions set out in National Security Decision Memorandum 289 (Document 193). It noted that India’s military imports—and thus its military advantage—continued to outpace Pakistan’s, and that the Soviet Union continued to be the major source of Indian arms.