KARACHI: Field Marshal Abdel Hakim Amer, First Vice-President of the UAR, was given a warm welcome when he arrived in Karachi last evening on an eight-day official visit to Pakistan.

A large number of people including some Arab students who had gathered at the airport balconies and along the railings, raised loud welcome slogans when the UAR Vice-President’s plane landed at 4-45 p.m. — 45 minutes behind schedule.

The Foreign Minister, Mr Sharifuddin Pirzada, greeted the UAR leader with a warm handshake and a contingent of the Navy presented a guard of honour and a march-past. A brass band played the national anthems of the UAR and Pakistan.

An element of colour was added to the occasion, when a group of Arab students at the airport held demonstrations, demanding the liberation of Kashmir and Palestine. They also raised slogans like, “Long Live Pakistan”, “Long Live UAR” and “Down with Israel”.

The UAR Vice-President waved back to the people when he was cheered and given ovation by the people as his motorcade drove past from the airport to State Guest House where he and the members of his entourage are staying.

Marshal Amer, who is accompanied by a 12-member official delegation and 14 other senior officials, is leaving this morning for Larkana to call on President Ayub Khan. — Special Representative

[Meanwhile, as reported by agencies from Rawalpindi,] the Central Secretary for Information and Broadcasting Mr Altaf Gauhar today [Dec 5] urged the trainees of the Central Television Training Institute to disseminate knowledge to the people about human and developmental activities to enable them to make a positive contribution to national life.

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2016