KHUZDAR: Twenty-one heads of armed groups operating in the nearby Jhalawan Hills, this morning [July 31] surrendered before Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who described their decision as “correct and in the national interest”. “Had this decision been made earlier, the entire problem could have been settled long before,” Mr Bhutto told the surrendering leaders, mainly belonging to the Mengal tribe. These heads have surrendered along with 200 of their followers. The ceremony took place in the lawns of the Circuit House. … As the Prime Minister came out … the group … stood up and he shook hands with each one of them. Welcoming their decision to surrender, [he] … made it clear that those who come down from the mountains would not be maltreated.

[Meanwhile, as reported from Nushki,] Prime Minister Bhutto disclosed at a … public meeting … that during his recent visit to Bangladesh he was virtually “under detention”. He had expressed his desire to meet the people, go to hotels for food or tea. None of it was permitted by the Mujib Government on the pretext of “danger to my life”. Even after Mr Bhutto told his counterpart in Dacca that he feared no danger to his life, his desire was not fulfilled. — News agencies

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2024