George H.W. Bush, who passed away at the age of 94 on Friday, led U.S. support for Pakistan on several important turns of the country’s turbulent past.
I witnessed his relationships with Pakistani diplomats and leaders as a journalist covering the United Nations for the Associated Press of Pakistan. As American diplomat, he backed Pakistan at the United Nations during the 1971 crisis as and as president of the United States approved the sale of F-16 fighter jets, although the deal later did not materialize.
It was during the 1971 war in Bangladesh that Bush as U.S. ambassador to the UN, supported his Pakistani counterpart, the late Agha Shahi for a Security Council call for a ceasefire so that negotiations could begin for a political settlement of the crisis.
That was the time of Cold War and the U.S.S. R had close ties with India. Each time, the Soviet Union vetoed Pakistan’s attempts to secure a ceasefire resolution until the fall of Dhaka.
Bush also tried to help Pakistan near the endgame in November 1971 when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto arrived in New York to lead the Pakistan delegation. Bush expressed support for Bhutto’s passionate call to the 15-member Council to stop the war so that a political solution could be found. He denounced Moscow for blocking efforts to bring peace to the region and New Delhi’s refusal to withdraw Indian troops from the then East Pakistan.
Years later, in 1989 the year when the Cold War came to an end with the fall of Berlin Wall, Bush welcomed Benazir Bhutto, the first female prime minister in the Islamic world, when she paid a state visit to the United States.
It was during that visit that Ms. Bhutto won an agreement for the sale of 60 F-16 fighter jets for $1.4 billion to Pakistan. The jets were never delivered to Pakistan during the Bill Clinton years as Pakistan faced sanctions.
Although, Bush and Pakistani diplomats worked together on many issues, they also had their differences on some important occasions of the international diplomacy.
For instance, during the Octoer 1971 General Assembly meeting on the question of representation of China at the UN , Ambassador Agha Shahi and his American counterpart Bush were on the opposite sides.
Shahi was leading the effort to expel US-backed Taiwan and to restore the credentials of People’s Republic of China at the world body, while Bush was fighting to retain the membership of Taiwan.
When it became clear that the U.S. would lose the vote, Bush called on the Assembly President, Adam Malik of Indonesia, to suspend the proceeding till the the next day as the time was past midnight. But Shahi quickly took the floor and cited a rule that once the voting process began, the Assembly proceedings cannot be stopped.
Bush quickly scribbled a note and sent one of his aides took it to Shahi. It read: “Agha, Why do you want me to go back to Taxes? GB”.
The vote went ahead and the U.S. lost narrowly, paving the way to the entry of People’s Republic of China to the China after being kept away for 22 years.
The result, however, had no effect on the friendship between Shahi and Bush. In fact, Bush praised the diplomatic skills of Shahi at several public events while reminiscing about his service as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
Bush visited Pakistan in January 2006 as UN special envoy to express solidarity with the country in the wake of the massive 2005 earthquake that shattered cities and towns in the north. After the visit, Bush also helped raised funds for the quake victims.
For most of his long career, Bush represented the United States effectively including his time as vice president during Ronald Reagan’s White House terms in the 1980s, when the United States and Pakistan had a close relationship.
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