1971-10-21
Page: 16
Two leading Pakistani soldier diplomats. Lieutenant-General A. M. Raza, the ambassador-designate to the United States, and Lieutenant-General Mohammad Yusuf, the new high commissioner in this country, have been comparing notes in London about Pakistan's bad public image abroad.
Raza and Yusuf will play an important part in the campaign to rehabilitate their country’s image on both sides of the Atlantic in the coming months. The publicity campaign is expected to coincide with the promulgation of Pakistan’s new civilian constitution and convening of the national assembly at the end of December.
Yusuf, who led the Pakistan contingent to the Queen’s Coronation and was high commissioner here in the early 60s, is actively lobbying support among British MPs, among them Sir Frederick Bennett, the Conservative member for Torquay, and Tom McMillan, Labour MP for Glasgow central.
Raza, who leaves for Washington tomorrow, was chosen for the job because of his knowledge of China and his friendship with Chou en-Lai who often dined with him when he was Pakistan ambassador in Peking. Chou’s friendship with Raza was in no wav affected by the general's formal western attire, top hat and tail coat, and the Pakistan president expects his presence in Washington to be particularly useful in the exchanges between the United States and China which will follow Henry Kissinger's present visit to Peking.