RAWALPINDI: The NAP-Hazarvi group alliance is working for an understanding with the People’s Party for convening the provincial assemblies … by the middle of January if possible. Though none of the parties concerned would offer any formal comment, it appears that they all agree that for the time being it is not practicable to convene the National Assembly and they consider East Pakistan’s present position as the main hurdle in this regard.

The main condition put forward by the NAP-Hazarvi alliance for cooperation with the PPP is that “democratic principles” should be adhered to in regard to the appointment of Governors for Baluchistan and the NWFP. This means that the alliance which captured the majority of the seats in the two Provincial Assemblies should be given the right to nominate Governors of its own choice in both the provinces. — Staff correspondent

[Meanwhile, as reported by the staff correspondent from Lahore,] President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto … stressed the need of effecting a harmonious relationship between the people and the Armed Forces under the command of the parliament and adjudicated by an independent judiciary. The President said that the Armed Forces … had suffered because of a defective system devoid of any accountability. It was essential, he said, to destroy the evil of dictatorship and to create harmony among various segments….

Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2021