LAHORE: ...Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, declared here today [Oct 18] that his party was ready to negotiate over the prospects of cooperation and alignment with any political organisation which believed in full supremacy of the provinces and subscribed to the concept of a united Pakistan. Elaborating his viewpoint Mr. Bhutto said the East Pakistan PDP was different in character and outlook from its Western counterpart which was a “reactionary body functioning under the leadership of Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan”. The same could not be said about the PDP in the Eastern Wing.

He was commenting on the Press reports suggesting that the prospects of a PPP-PDP coalition for forming a Government at the Centre were bright in the light of recent parleys... . — Staff correspondent

[Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies in Paris,] President Gen. A.M. Yahya Khan said in an interview ... that differences between India and Pakistan should be settled by a dialogue... . He said … that war, instead of solving problems, would accentuate these further... . He said the refugees issue was not going to be solved by armed conflict. [He] said that Pakistan was encircled by Indian troops, her Air Force … and artillery, India was bombarding East Pakistan, encouraging infiltrators to damage the East Wing economy. …

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2021