KARACHI: Mr Altaf Husain, Minister for Industries and Natural Resources, yesterday assured the countrymen on behalf of the Government that no effort would be spared to do away with regional disparity and to “encourage the rise of a broad and dynamic entrepreneurial class in East Pakistan which can accept the challenge of the industrial revolution”. The Minister, who was speaking at a reception given in his honour by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry [at a hotel] in Karachi, declared that “the removal of disparity and the ultimate objective of achieving balanced growth amongst all regions is both a socio-economic necessity and a constitutional obligation, besides constituting an undertaking in the President’s Election manifesto”.

[Meanwhile, as reported by agencies from Cairo], the newspaper ‘Al-Ahram’, yesterday published details of what it claimed were British plans for possible military intervention in five Middle East countries.

Two pages of the newspaper were devoted to the second of a series of articles by its Editor, Mohamed Hassanein Heykal, on top secret documents, it says, were handed over by Mr Percy Sydney Allen, a British sergeant. Mr Allen was recently sentenced in London to 10 years’ hard labour for communicating documents which might be useful to an enemy. [Mr] Heykal said he was writing with five military plans in front of him, for intervention in Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya and Sudan. Their aim was to strengthen CENTO, guarantee the defence and security of Cyprus, and strengthen the present regimes in Libya and Jordan against the U.A.R. he added.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2015

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