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Published 27 Jul, 2016 05:58am

From the past pages of dawn: 1966: Fifty years ago: Nasser’s charge

ALEXANDRIA: United Arab Republic President, Gamal Abdel Nasser, said last night [July 26] Britain is building a military base in Saudi Arabia and British technicians and airmen are now working for that aim in the oil-rich monarchy.

Addressing a popular rally celebrating the tenth anniversary of the nationalisation of the Suez Canal, President Nasser said: “We simply cannot trust Saudi Arabia to work with us to liberate Palestine ... Saudi Arabia should first rid itself from British and American military bases on its territory.”

He declared Egypt can mobilise 3,000,000 men to fight to reclaim Palestine.

President Nasser said: “British forces in civilian clothes are setting up a new British base in Saudi Arabia.”

The President said there was no prospect of an Arab summit meeting succeeding so long as it was threatened by “treachery from within.”

“Arab reaction betrayed Palestine in 1948 when we were fighting with arms in our hands,” he said. “We do not want this tragedy to be repeated. It was for that reason I declared last year that revolutionary action was the only way to liberate Palestine.”

[Meanwhile, as reported by agencies from Lahore,] the Pakistan National Awami Party has set before itself the goal of achieving socialism through constitutional manner and as a step towards this end it has decided to continue its struggle for the restoration of democracy.

This was stated by Mian Mahmood Ali Kasuri while presiding over a public meeting organised by the West Pakistan branch of NAP at the YMCA Hall this evening [July 27].

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2016

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