QUETTA: In the event of another conflict the people of Pakistan will find their Chinese fri­ends even closer than they were during the 1965 and 1971 wars. This was stated by the leader of the visiting Chinese Radio and Te­­levision delegation, Mr Tung Lin, at a dinner given in their honour by the Government of Baluchistan. … The remark was greeted by the guests with thunderous and prolonged applause. His remark was made in reference to “the eloquent expression of friendship for the Chinese people” he heard from a rugged Pakistani farmer during his visit … near La­­hore. “In difficult times alone is proved the sincerity of a friend,” he observed and re­­called the common struggles waged by Pakis­tan and China against imperialism, neocolonialism and expansionism.

[Meanwhile as reported by news agencies from Washington,] King Khalid of Saudi Arabia said in an interview published in the “Sunday Washington Post” his nation would concede Israel’s right to exist in return for total Israeli withdrawal from Arab lands occupied in 1967. Another condition would be establishment of a Palestinian State between Israel and Jordan, he added. … …[H]is comments were made in written answers.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2025