WASHINGTON, June 24.-The continuing flow of refugees from East Pakistan to India is likely to lead to war between India and Pakistan, an American diplomat told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today, according to congressional sources.
Archer K. Blood, until a few weeks ago the United States consul general in Dacca, East Pakistan, appeared before the committee in closed session. The Congressional sources also said he called the refugee situation with 6,000,000 Pakistanis now in India, worse than the situation of Palestinian refugees.
He predicted the flow of refugees would continue unless the Pakistan government reaches a settlement with political leaders in East Pakistan.
AID CUT-OFF SUPPORTED
A congressional effort to put pressure on the regime to do that and to speed up relief programs gained significant support today from the Senate Republican leader and the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. They announced they supported efforts to cut off all American aid-military and economic-to Pakistan.
Senator Hugh Scott (R., Pa.), the minority leader, quietly put his name down as one of 24 who backed a cut- off amendment to the foreign aid bill that Senator William B. Saxbe (R., Ohio) and Frank Church (D., Idaho) proposed.
Representative Thomas E. Morgan (D., Pa.) whose House Foreign Affairs Committee Is now preparing the final version of the aid bill, said in an interview he favored a ban comparable to one suggested by Representative Cornelius E. Gallagher (D., N.J.), chairman of that panel's subcommittee on Asian and Pacific affairs.
BACKS GREATER LOOPHOLE
But Dr. Morgan said he believed any ban should include a greater loophole for presidential discretion to continue aid than does Mr. Gallagher's version.
Action may come next week in the House panel. On the Senate side, sessions to prepare the final version of the bill are likely to begin July 6.
Meanwhile, the Secretary of State, William P. Rogers, announced that an additional $70 million in aid would be given to India to help that country deal with the 6,000,000 East Pakistan refugees. This brings to $90.5 million the total U.S. commitment.
Mr. Blood will be testifying in open session Monday before the Judiciary subcommittee on refugees, which is also scheduled to go into the question of the recent arms shipment to Pakistan.
These shipments-in spite of repeated State Department assurances that no arms would be sold to Pakistan after the civil war began-have increased congressional chances of passing some sort of aid cut-off, Capitol sources believe
A VIOLATION OF POLICY
Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D., Mass.), chairman of the refugee subcommittee, said Tuesday the arms shipments, whether "double-talk, incompetence or both . . . is a violation of policy . . . it will continue to fuel military actions which have already been the cause of over 6,000,000 refugees and countless civilian dead." He said it appeared the United States is "more efficient in moving military hardware than in arranging humanitarian relief."
Senator Stuart Symington (D., Mo.), chairman of the foreign relations subcommittee on Near Eastern and South Asian affairs told the Senate today the news of the shipments "indicates that the State Department either did not know what was going on or deliberately misled the committee." He cited an April 23 letter from David M. Abshire, assistant secretary of state for congressional relations, saying "nothing is in the pipeline" for arms to Pakistan.
India Urges U.S. To Stop Arms Bound For Pakistan
(By Pran Sabharwal)
NEW DELHI, June 24.-India has asked the United States government to try to stop the delivery of American arms now en route to Pakistan aboard two of that country's ships.
Swaran Singh, Indian minister of external affairs, told Parliament today that the shipment of arms was a clear violation of assurances given to India by the U.S. The American government came in for strong criticism in both houses of Parliament. Angry members called the U.S. action "hostile" and said that India should intercept the two Pakistani ships.
Mr. Singh said India has also asked the U.S. government for assurance's that there will be no further shipments of military stores to Pakistan even under authorization made before March 25-the day the Pakistan Army moved against the Bengali Nationalists who had asked for a democratically elected government on the basis of last year's elections in Pakistan.
Although, Indo-American relations did not suffer much of a setback as a result of the New York Times disclosures of the arms shipment, there was a strong anti-American reaction by the Indian public which was alarmed by developments in Vietnam.
Quoting the recent disclosures of Vietnam war documents, members of Parliament charged that no American administration can be trusted.