WASHINGTON: Four or five vessels carrying licensed US military equipment will be leaving for Pakistan during the next month or two, US officials said yesterday [June 29]. However, State Department spokesman Charles Bray said the cargo was all equipment that had been licensed for sale to Pakistan before the United States clamped down its embargo on March 25. He said one ship was already being loaded with a cargo of items duly licensed according to the US Munitions Control List. Other officials said maybe four or five ship loads would be leaving for Pakistan over the next one or two months. The embargo on arms sales to Pakistan was stiffened in March because of the developments in the Eastern region. … — Agencies

Cosmonauts found dead on landing

[Agencies add from Moscow,] Russia’s three “Salyut” cosmonauts were found dead when their Soyuz-11 ferry craft landed early today [June 30], “Tass” announced. The trio who had been in space for three weeks separated from the “Salyut”orbital station last night [June 29] for the return to earth. The three Salyut cosmonauts, Lt-Col Georgi Dobrovolsky, 43, Flight Engineer Vladislaw Volkov, 37, and Test Engineer Viktor Patsayev, 38, were found dead when the hatch of the Soyuz-11 craft was opened.

‘President’s view realistic’

[Meanwhile, as reported by agencies in Karachi,] Mr Naveed Ahmad Malik, Secretary-General Pakistan People’s Party (Raza Progressive Group), has said that the President has taken a very realistic view in not transferring power at this stage in one Wing which could have created misgivings amongst our brethren in East Pakistan.

Addressing a news conference at the Party’s office here yesterday afternoon [June 29], he said his party will extend full co-operation to the call of the President to bring back normalcy and economic development in the country. He also welcomed the declaration of the President not to accept any foreign aid with political strings. [He] said: “We support the stand taken by the President that power will be transferred simultaneously in all the provinces. He suggested that the future constitution should be such where basic necessities for every citizen are guaranteed.”

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2021