KARACHI: The Secretary-General of the UDF, Prof Ghafoor Ahmed, said … that the March 8 talks between Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and the Opposition leaders at Rawalpindi had ended in a deadlock. Addressing a Press conference, he said that at the end of the talks there was no indication of a second round and consequently no possibility of the Opposition ending its boycott of the Assemblies. The UDF Secretary-General said that as things stood, the Opposition would not only continue the boycott when NA session resumed on March 25 but might extend it to the Budget session. … In fact … if things did not improve, the Opposition would be constrained to think of “other methods”, including the suggestion to resign their seats in the Assemblies en bloc. — Staff reporter

[Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies from Peking,] Cambodian Head of State Prince Norodom Sihanouk today [March 13] called on all foreigners in Phnom Penh to leave the city immediately as their safety could not be guaranteed. Countries with embassies still open in the besieged capital “should close them urgently and all their citizens … should be evacuated”, the Prince said in a statement.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2025