ISLAMABAD: Mr Zulfikar Ali Bhutto ... said today [April 29] he had asked Mr Mahmud Ali Kasuri, PPP Vice-Chairman, to visit East Pakistan “as soon as possible” before he himself goes to the East Wing. Talking to newsmen at the Islamabad Airport prior to his departure for Lahore ... he said, he would be going to East Pakistan at the “right time”. ...Mr Bhutto said that in East Pakistan they will study the situation and meet friends, leaders and people. Asked whether he will take steps to form People’s Party in East Wing, Mr Bhutto said “my party already exists there”.

The PPP chairman, who met President Yahya Khan in Rawalpindi ... said he would make a statement about “necessary and relevant” matters at a Press conference in Lahore. Asked whether his statement will cover the question of transfer of power, Mr Bhutto said, “I suppose so”. However, he said, the people should not feel disappointed. The rights of the people, he said, were supreme and “I am confident that they will get their rights”.

Mr Bhutto urged the people should have a little patience. “We are going through a difficult period, we hope this period will be behind us as we march forward to strengthen national integrity to bring progress and prosperity for the people,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2021