Evening star., 1951-03-23
Smashed Plot in Pokiston

Recent events in PakStan serve as another
warning to the world on this side of the Iron
Curtain that free nations, if they wish to remain
free, must be constantly on guard against the
threat of Kremlin- directed Communist subver-
slon Especially in restive areas like Asia and the
Middle East, the threat is ever-present and gov
ernments that fail to keep a sharp eye it,
governments that are not eternally vigilant
against it, flirt with the danger of being over
thrown and liquidated by the forces of tyranny.
Fortunately for the soo0O,ooo people of PAX
istan-the fifth most populous country in the
world and the greatest of all Moslem states
their young democracy "a nation whose inde-
pendence is not yet four years old) is blessed
with government that is wide awake. That is
why it has just succeeded in heading off a con-
Spiracy against its freedon1-a conspiracy in
which an apparently small group of military and
civilian traitors aimed at staging a coup and
establishing a dictatorship patterned on the
Communist model
The outside world first heard of this con-
spiracy on March g. when Liaquat Ali Khan
PakiStanS Prime Minister-announced the arrest
of the country's Army Chief of staff and a num-
ber of other individuals. And now, in an ap-
pearance before Parliament, Mr.. Liaquat Ali has
enlarged upon his original announcement with a
statement explaining that the plan of the plot
CeIS Was W TGSOIt 10 SEIZE GucCtlVe CUWtl,
eliminate the existing military and civil authori-
ties, and then-in concert with Communist rev.
clutionary eements-set up Red dictatorship
with the help of missions that were to be in
vited from certain foreign countries"
In revealing all this, the Prime Minister has
not accused the Kremlin of having instigated the
plot, but he has left no room for doubt that the
plotters themselves-even though they may in
fart have acting eofjrp1U m hpj with
out inspiration from the outsde-woud have
worked hand in glove had they succeeded, with
Red China and the Soviet Union The phrase
certain foreign countries" could hardly mean
anything else. Obviously, If the Communists
ever seized power in Pakistan, they would not
turn to the free world to help them set up their
tyranny.
While expressing the conviction that PAX
istans armed forces would have smashed the
conspiracy if it had exploded into action before
being uncovered, Mr. Liaquat Ali has emphasized
at the same time that the projected insurrection
could not have been quelled without bloodshed
and that it would have gravely imperiled the. Sc
curity of the nation. 1t need hardly be added
that it would also have endangered all of free
Asia. For the men of the Notwithstanding
the country's strategic position in relation to
lands like Iran and India-would have capitalized
on the situation, in one way or another to pro-
mote their aggressive ends.
Pakistan-with its balanced budget and its
fundamentally healthy economic condition "a
condition that has made the International Bank
favorable toward negotiating loans for the coun-
trys further development)-is one of the most
stable nations of Asia That helps to protect it
from Communist plotting. But it's greatest single
safeguard is the alertness of its democratic gov
ernment. The same sort of alertness is needed
throughout the free world to hold back and re-
verse the Red tide.