U.K. National Archives 1971-08-03

Excerpt from the Records of the UK Cabinet CAB 128/49/43.

Conclusions of a meeting of the Cabinet held at 10 Downing Street, on Tuesday, 3 August, 1971 at 11 a.m.

Conclusions of a meeting of the Cabinet held at 10 Downing Street, on Tuesday, 3 August, 1971 at 11 a.m.

Attendees: E Heath; R Maulding; Hailsham; Carrington; G Rippon; M Thatcher; P Walker; A Douglas-Home; W Whitelaw; K Joseph; R Carr; Jellicoe; P Thomas; J Prior; M Noble; M Macmillan; F Corfield; F Pym.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary informed the Cabinet that the Government of India had now rejected the proposal by the Secretary-General of the United Nations that special arrangements should be made on the frontier between India and East Pakistan to enable the United Nations to try to persuade the refugees that they could safely return to East Bengal. The Indian Government had also required our voluntary organisations engaged in the relief of distress in East Pakistan to withdraw within 10 days on the ground that Indian resources were adequate to deal with the situation. These developments offered little prospect of Indian co-operation in resolving the problem of East Pakistan.