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Regular-article-logo Tuesday, 22 July 2025

Veil off Soviet eye-for-India threat to Pak

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The Telegraph Online Published 25.04.07, 12:00 AM

Islamabad, April 24 (PTI): At the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union had warned Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto it would gouge Pakistan’s “eyes out” if the country so much as looked at India, a new book claims.

The then Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev, had sounded the warning when Bhutto was at the United Nations with his country’s delegation, says the book based on the diaries of former military ruler Ayub Khan.

“Khrushchev, of course, abused Bhutto and said should Pakistan look towards India or Afghanistan, the Soviets would take our eyes out,” said a noting made by Khan on May 23, 1967, with reference to a dinner he had had with Said Hassan, who served as Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN.

“He (Bhutto) told Khrushchev not to get angry: Pakistan was ready to quit the pacts (Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation and Central Treaty Organisation),” said an excerpt from the book published in The News today.

The book — to be launched by Khan’s son Gohar Ayub on May 4 — also claims Bhutto volunteered to “spy” on all UN delegations for the US when he visited the world body as the head of Pakistan’s delegation.

“To Said Hassan’s amazement, when seeing (then US secretary of state Christian) Hutter, he (Bhutto) volunteered to spy for the USA on all UN delegations. When asked for an explanation, he said that because of our dependence on the USA, it was a good thing to oblige them,” The News quoted Khan’s noting in the diary.

Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party reacted strongly to the allegations, saying the charges — like Gohar Ayub’s previous claim that his father obtained India’s war plans before the 1965 war — lacked credibility.

“Said Hassan said he felt ashamed and came with a conclusion that the man (Bhutto) was completely unreliable, double-faced and lacking in integrity and character,” the diary said.

Bhutto was part of different delegations that represented Pakistan at the UN from 1957. He served as Prime Minister during 1973-77.

Hassan was Pakistan’s representative at the UN for about three years till around 1960. Later, he was appointed deputy chairman of the planning commission. Hassan also made some damning remarks on Bhutto’s conduct with the wife of former Indonesian President Sukarno.

“Similarly, the Japanese complained that Bhutto called them elusive animals in Algiers. From this and several other such instances in many capitals, it should be obvious how much harm he did to the reputation of Pakistan. There is no doubt about it that he is a man of despicable character and is a low-down creature,” the book said.

Bhutto did not find favour among Pakistan’s military establishment. He was hanged in April 1979 by then military ruler Zia-ul Haq on charges of murder.

Bhutto also came in for sharp criticism from President Pervez Musharraf in his autobiography In the Line of Fire, in which he wrote that Bhutto was a fascist, using progressive rhetoric to promote regressive ends, the first of which was to “stay in power for ever”.

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