Office of the Historian

365. Letter From Pakistani President Zia to President Carter1

Islamabad, September 29, 1979
Dear Mr President,

It was a great pleasure for me, during my stop over in New York, to receive your very kind message of welcome and personal greetings through Under Secretary of State Newsom.2 I was gratified to learn that my letter of August 93 is receiving your close attention and to be assured of your personal commitment to the restoration of our traditionally close ties of friendship and mutual cooperation.

We sincerely feel that there are no real differences between us on matters of substance but only a series of unfortunate misunderstandings resulting from lack of proper communication. I had a useful talk with Mr. Newsom and earnestly hope that the misunderstandings will be cleared in the course of our dialogue which will continue through the discussions due to be held between Secretary Vance and my Adviser on Foreign Affairs, Mr. Agha Shahi.

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I assure you once again that we have no intention whatsoever of pursuing any programme which may be geared to the production of nuclear weapons. Our modest nuclear programme, which is entirely for peaceful purposes, has been misrepresented to such an extent as to divert attention from the critical developments in our region which threaten not only the security of Pakistan but of the entire region. We, on our part, will do whatever lies in our power to restore mutual trust and confidence so that the contradictions in our current appreciation of and approach to our security problems and those of the region are removed enabling the United States Government to establish an order of priorities which would more accurately correspond to the situation on the ground.

May I conclude by saying how deeply touched I was by your concern for my daughter’s health and specially by Mrs. Carter’s kindness and help to my wife who joins me in conveying to you and Mrs. Carter and the entire family our warm regards and sincere good wishes.

With profound regards,

Yours sincerely,4

M. Zia-ul-Haq
General
  1. Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P870006–2536. No classification marking. The salutation is handwritten.↩
  2. See Document 360 and footnote 5 thereto.↩
  3. See Document 357.↩
  4. The two closing paragraphs are handwritten.↩