Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-02-28
We Can Expect First-CIoss Fighting Ally
In Return for Our Military Support
By Edqor AnseI Mower

difficulties, cheerfully tackled and in
part overcome.
At the time of the division of India.
Pakistan got the worst of the arms
deal, as of everything else. Possibly
the British. who carried out parti-
ton, agreed with the Indians that
Pakistan was too frail to last.
Anyhow. India got all the 10
arms factories, and Pakistan got
none. India was allowed to keep
two-thirds of the stocks of the
British Indian Army on Indian soil
and then refused to give Pakistan
the remaining third.
Most of midas 35O,000-man army
camp in or around KaShmir.
Against these the Pakistanis, with
much smaller army. put a ridicu-
lousy small contingent (this is ono
of the few security f1gures).
Most OF the Pakistanis are turn
ing their backs on the Indian dam
ger $50 small they rate it, and fac
ing northwest and west, where the
only real peril lies.
PakistaE is completing a large
arms factory at Wah, near here. It
is already making small arms and
will turn out artillery. But it will
be years before it can manufacture
enough for the enlarged army the
PakiStani have in mind.
Big Defense Budget
Pakistan has bought Sherman
tanks in the United States. 1t also
bought a few jet planes in Britain.
now outmoded. It has regularly
spent from 60 to IS per cent Of it,
budget on defense.
Still, it has only q small army.
Hence its hope of getting modern
equipment from the United States.
But merely to make this army
roughly as strong as midas is not
the Pakistanis' only aim. Even now
they do not fear India. In their
eyes, only about $4,000 Zone seventh
OF 1ndia's army. presumably Gurk-
has and Sikhs) are equal to Western
Pakistan's forces.
Pakistan'S generals have reached
the conclusion that. in a modern
war between superpowers. smaller
nations stand no chance of remain
ing neutral. Pakistan is anti-Com-
munlst. Therefore it may be in
volved in Russian attempt to reach
the oil of the Persian Gulf and the
port of Karachi.
Better make ones choice now,
they reason. ana f1ght for ones life
as West Pakistanis have always
fought.
Eastern PaklStan, with over half
the population. has little or no mar
tlal spirit. But the Western Paki-
stani would certainly try to defend
1t against any assault by Chinese
Reds.
Meanwhile. they hope to get from
the United States many more Jets,
tanks. motor vehicles and modern
guns-for free. If they do. they will
become a very fine fighting force,
whose only weakness will be lack
OF mechanical training.
One other thing: Parkistan's Army
is today British Army. It's lead
ing generals have been trained in
British military schools They have
fought with British regiments and
under British officers in the old
Indian Army
Their methods are British meth
ods-down to scrupulous cleanliness
and attention to the individual
soldiers appearance. In this respect,
as in more other respects than some
Americans realize, one cannot exag-
gerate the debt that India and PAX
lstan owe to Britain. For their part,
Paklstan's generals are the first to
admit this. AS one of them said to
this correspondent:
"Remember-if you accept us, you
will be getting the cream of the
former British Indian Army. the
finest that this part of the world
has known"
Copyright. 1854, General Features CorpD