HYDERABAD: President Bhutto said here today [Jan 2] that before the expiry of the tenure of his Government at least 50 per cent of jhuggi-dwellers … would be provided with small pucca houses, along with civic amenities. He was addressing the villagers of Koli Goth, near the Hyderabad filter plant, where he paid an unscheduled surprise… .

He told the villagers that unlike previous governments this Government was very keen to rehabilitate the shelterless population… . The President said with the growth in population, jhuggis were also increasing mostly in the vicinity of industrial towns, where there was an influx of the people from the rural areas in search of employment. He directed Sind Minister for Local Bodies Jam Sadiq Ali to give top priority to low-cost housing projects… .— Staff Correspondent

[Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies from Baghdad,] two Iraqi soldiers have been killed … in border clashes with Iranian troops over the past three days. … The Iraq news agency quoted a military spokesman as saying … that Iranian troops had launched repeated attacks on Iraqi patrols. … There have been several border incidents since Iraq broke off relations in November 1971 in protest against Iran’s occupation of three islands in the Gulf.

Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2023