U.K. National Archives

Conclusions of a meeting of the Cabinet held at 10 Downing Street, on Thursday, 3 February, 1972 at 11.30 a.m.

Attendees: E Heath; R Maudling; Hailsham; W Whitelaw; K Joseph; R Carr; G Campbell; P Walker; J Prior; A Douglas-Home; A Barber; Carrington; G Rippon; M Thatcher; Jellicoe; P Thomas; J Davies; F Pym; G Howe.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary said that he proposed that we should formally recognise Bangladesh on 4 February and that he should make the appropriate Parliamentary statement on that day. Although the Governments of France and Italy were now unlikely to be ready to extend recognition quite so soon, a number of Western countries had already taken this step or intended to do so on the same day as ourselves. Conditions in Bangladesh were still somewhat unsettled; and reports indicated that the new regime's difficulties would be considerable. But he, judged that we ought to delay recognition no longer. Moreover, it would be desirable that we should have completed this action before he set out on his forthcoming visit to India lest the inference be drawn that we had responded to Indian pressure. It seemed very unlikely that President Bhutto of Pakistan, who had invited him to visit Islamabad on 19 February, intended to break diplomatic relations with us.

The Prime Minister, summing up a brief discussion, said that the withdrawal of Pakistan from the Commonwealth and the possible request of Bangladesh to join it would carry implications for the status in the United Kingdom of citizens of those two countries. These implications should now be examined in detail. In general our attitude should reflect the principle that the privileges which accrued to a country and to its nationals through membership of the Commonwealth should not normally be retained in the event of its withdrawal.

The Cabinet-
2. Took note, with approval, of the Prime Minister's summing up of their discussion.
3. Invited the Home Secretary to arrange for a study of the status of nationals of Pakistan and Bangladesh in the light of the points made in their discussion.