Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – September 12, 1991

I did not eat breakfast or lunch today. I also ate light food at night. At half past ten in the morning, we went to the airport to welcome Mr. Ghulam Ishaq Khan, the President of Pakistan, who has come with several ministers at my invitation. The parade of the armed forces and the ceremonies and interviews were performed when he arrived and accompanied him to Saad Abad residence.

On the way, we discussed the situation in Pakistan and the conflicts between Shiites and Sunnis in this country. He did not accept the proposal of a tripartite meeting with the presence of the Secretary General of the United Nations; Decoyyar asked. It was decided to be invited to dinner tonight instead of the meeting.

At quarter past four in the evening, he came to my office for official negotiations. We negotiated for about two hours. Regarding regional and international issues, there was understanding and unity of opinion in almost all cases. Committees were appointed to follow up the suggestions.

Mr. [Youssef] Bin Alavi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Oman, came. He brought the message of Sultan Qaboos. He expressed concern about the differences between the members of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council, especially Qatar and Bahrain. He called the situation in Kuwait disorderly and lacks discipline and announced that the Egyptian and Syrian forces will leave soon and will return their brigade to Oman soon, and he believes that the United States will not keep its forces either, which is my opinion. I said that it is likely that America prefers to have a military base in the north of the Persian Gulf and near the borders of Iran and Iraq. We want to improve our relations with Egypt. He said that the council believes that the Iraqis will finally take revenge on Kuwait, but they are worried. They are interested in cooperating more with Iran.

In honor of the Pakistani guests, I gave a dinner at the study center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I have also invited the Secretary General of the United Nations and the leaders of the Afghan Mujahideen. Before the dinner, there were short tripartite negotiations with the presence of the Secretary General. They were satisfied with their negotiations this evening with both Pakistanis and Afghans. They are very grateful to us for preparing the ground for this agreement. We have reached an agreement for a peaceful solution.

Mr. Ishaq Khan said, in Pakistan, except for a few people, they accept the same idea. The Secretary General agrees that Najib [Afghan President] and his close aides should not be there and believes that he will negotiate with Saudi Arabia with strong support and from a strong position due to the support of Iran and Pakistan. Mr. [Sidkamal] Kharazi said that the Secretary General has promised better cooperation with Iran in the implementation of Resolution 598. The Secretary General praised the character and integrity of Mr. [Syed Rahmatullah] Mortazavi, the spokesman of the Islamic Unity Party and the leader of the Afghan Shia Mujahideen.