WASHINGTON: President Nixon said here today [Nov 15] that he was confident “1973 will mark the beginning of a process which will lead to a permanent peace” in the Middle East. “Because of truce and because of the role played by the United States in stabilising it, for the first time in four wars and 25 years, we have now laid the foundation for the parties involved to negotiate and build a real peace in the region”.

The Middle East conflict was more dangerous than that in Vietnam because the Middle East was the crossroad of the world and contained oil, President Nixon added. It was illusory to suppose that the US energy crisis would end with peace prospects in the Middle East, Mr Nixon said. “We have already lost six weeks of Mid-East oil. We may lose three months. The crisis is there”, he said. — News agencies

[Meanwhile, as reported by a correspondent,] organised burglaries in museums in the country are on the increase and two such incidents have been reported involving thefts of original Moen-jo-Daro seals and priceless Gandhara sculptures. During the last one year three major thefts have been reported. Only Taxila Museum theft was reported in public and even debated in the National Assembly.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2023