NEW YORK: In sympathy with Arab delegations, Pakistan has decided not to attend a dinner dance being given by New York Mayor John Lindsay in honour of UN delegations on Oct 3.

The Arab bloc in the United Nations decided at a meeting here that it would boycott Mayor Lindsay’s dinner in protest against his insult to King Feisal of Saudi Arabia last June.

Mayor Lindsay and New York Governor Rockefeller at that time had cancelled a dinner and a meeting with the Saudi monarch because of some remarks made by King Feisal at a Washington Press conference about Israel and Zionism.

The rude behaviour on the part of New York City and State against a foreign Head of State on an official visit was motivated by the presence of more than two million Jews in New York who form a crucial electoral bloc.

Mayor Lindsay got elected only last year by a slim majority and Governor Rockefeller is due for re-election next November.

It is learned that Pakistan decided to decline the Mayoral invitation on its own after hearing of the Arab boycott. No Arab nation had approached Pakistan on this matter. Incidentally, the Indians are looking forward to the dinner dance.

[Meanwhile, as reported from Rawalpindi,] the Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister, Mr Nikolai Firyubin, left here this evening [Sept 28] for Karachi en route to Rangoon, highly satisfied with his talks with President Mohammad Ayub Khan.

Asked by a correspondent if he was satisfied with his talks with the President, Mr Firyubin replied: “Oh yes, very much.”

It may be mentioned that his talks with President Ayub, according to an official spokesman, revolved around the important items on the UN Assembly agenda and the growing friendly relations between Pakistan and the Soviet Union.

Before boarding the plane Mr Firyubin conveyed his “best wishes for the happiness and prosperity of the friends in Pakistan and in Asia”.

Published in Dawn September 29th, 2016