Fresh Rosebuds, Old Suspicions

Resplendent in white khadi, with the inevitable red rosebud in his buttonhole, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru flew to Karachi last week. Prime Minister Mohammed Ali was on hand to greet him, while more than 100,000 Pakistanis lined the dusty streets, waving Indian flags as well as their own. From a people that had expected, feared or threatened war with India for six years, this was indeed a surprising welcome.

For three days, the ministers talked in an atmosphere just as cordial. They quickly agreed that trade and travel restrictions along their borders should be eased--in itself an important step. But when they came to the complex question of Kashmir, there was no agreement. Mohammed Ali repeated Pakistan's claim that the 4,000,000 Kashmiris, 75% of whom are Moslems, should be allowed to decide by plebiscite which nation they would join; Nehru, as usual, agreed but would not say when the plebiscite might be taken. And at week's end, they put out a communique that reflected the friendly but inconclusive tone of their meeting. They announced that Mohammed Ali would shortly return the call in New Delhi.

Their talks did much to ease the tension that has lasted since 1947, when more than 500,000 Hindus and Moslems were killed, and 12 million made homeless during the carnage that followed the partition of India. There was hope that the two nations, by forgoing their old suspicions, might reduce their crippling defense budgets (50% for India, 65% for Pakistan). Said Mohammed Ali: "The resources that both countries are now devoting to arming themselves against each other . . . could be devoted to the great task of raising deplorably low living standards."

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