There was no edition of the paper on Oct 12, 1974, on account of the Jumatul Wida holiday. The excerpt below is taken from the previous day’s edition.

EDITORIAL: If Sardar Daud’s communication to the Secretary-General of the [UN] … was an attempt at gross interference in the internal affairs of this country, then Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Waheed Abdullah’s speech before the [UNGA] must be seen to foreshadow a threat to Pakistan’s territorial integrity. … Afghanistan’s hostility ... stems from Kabul’s fixation with the so-called concept of Pashtoonistan carved out of Pakistan territory. … Kabul bases its territorial claims … on its contention that it never accepted the Durand Line … concluded at the ... request of the then ruler of Afghanistan ... and renewed by subsequent agreements. …

The mere fact that ... it suits the political interests of one of the parties to denounce it, does not alter the inviolability of an international agreement. … If the Kabul junta demands the right of self-determination of Pashtoons living in Pakistan, can it justifiably deny the same rights to its own Pashtoons and to the other ethnic elements in its population?

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2024