ISLAMABAD: The delegations of India and Pakistan appeared very close to an agreement when they rose for the day this evening [Sept 13] after two days of talks on resumption of travel facilities and restoration of postal and telecommunications links. … Approached by waiting newsmen after the talks, the Indian Foreign Secretary, Mr Kewal Singh, said: “We are very near an agreement”, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary, Mr Agha Shahi, said “I confirm it”. Mr Kewal Singh indicated that a joint communique may be issued tomorrow.

[Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies from the UN,] the UN Secretary-General Dr Kurt Waldheim, warned … that the situation in the Middle East “remains very explosive and dangerous”. Speaking at a luncheon … Dr Waldheim said the sense of urgency, “which dominated our approach to the Middle East question last October and in the following months, must be rekindled”. … Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin had talks in Washington … with US President Gerald Ford on supplies of modern weapons to the Israeli army and the “possibilities” of a settlement in the Middle East. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was also present.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2024