page_title: Liaquat Ali Khan's state visit to the United States
section_title: Visit and aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: Liaquat Ali Khan's state visit to the United States / Visit and aftermath
context_page_description: The state visit of Liaquat Ali Khan to the United States from 3 May to 26 May 1950, was an official state visit paid by the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, accompanied by the First Lady of Pakistan, Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan.
  President Truman had sent his personal aircraft, The Independence, to ferry the Pakistani prime minister from London to Washington D.C.and accorded him the highest honour by personally welcoming him at the national airport, accompanied by his entire cabinet. A photograph from that time shows Truman and his wife smiling at the camera, surrounded his Pakistani guests and their wives in "Gharar" outfits in front of Blair House, the state guest house across the street from the White House. Liaqat Ali Khan was wearing a Western Suit with a "Jinnah" Karkuli cap.
  Upon Prime Minister Ali Khan's arrival, there was an official parade in the New York City in his honour, he was also conferred with an honorary degree by the Columbia University. During his visit, he also spoke at the House of Representatives, the lower house of the United States Congress.
context_section_description: In a reference written by Kalim Bahadur in his book Democracy in Pakistan: Crises and Conflicts, Prime Minister Ali Khan quickly accepted the invitation and postponed his visit to Moscow.  On 3 May 1950, Prime Minister Ali Khan, the First Lady of Pakistan, Begum Ali Khan and the large civic-military delegation arrived to the United States via United Kingdom and their official flight landed at the New Orleans Airport, New Orleans, Louisiana. Prime Minister Ali Khan was met with honour and received a warm welcome from the general American public; he was personally received by the President of the United States, Harry Truman. Upon reaching New York City, President Truman organised a parade and accorded the red-carpet treatment to welcome Ali Khan and his family.
  Ali Khan gave a lecture on political science at Columbia University, which conferred him with an honorary degree. Thereafter, he also engaged and spoke to the US House of Representatives. Speaking at the United States Congress session, Ali Khan highlighted the importance of Pakistan's geostrategic location, and the visit set the course of Pakistan's foreign policy: close ties with the United States and co-operation against a perceived threat from the USSR. Upon returning to Pakistan, he strongly defended his trip to the United States in a broadcast from Radio Pakistan on 30 June:
  This visit not only enabled me to see the American people and their wonderful country but also gave me an occasion to inform the inhabitants of that country about the birth of Pakistan, its short but eventful history and the Islamic way of life adopted as an ideal by the people of my country
  — Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, 1950, source
caption: President Truman accompanies Prime Minister Ali Khan in Washington D.C.
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