LAHORE: President Ayub Khan has invited the Opposition Leaders to a conference in Raw­al­pindi on Feb 17 to discuss the political problems which are agitating the people’s mind and to seek their assistance in finding solutions thereto. The President has requested Nawab­zada Nasrullah Khan, Convenor of Democratic Action Committee, “to invite on my behalf whomsoever you like to attend” the conference.

The President’s letter, dated today [Feb 5], was delivered to Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan at his hotel in Lahore this morning by a member of the President’s personal staff, in the presence of Choudhri Mohammad Ali, Mian Mumtaz Daultana, Mian Tufail Mohammad, Mr Mahmud Ali and Khwaja Khairuddin.

The letter says that the President who is due to leave Lahore for Dacca tomorrow morning would be available to discuss any preliminaries in Dacca “should that be considered necessary by you”.

Meanwhile, talking to newsmen at the Lahore airport on his arrival from Rawalpindi, the President said, “I shall go to the conference table with an absolutely open mind.”

He said that in his first-of-the-month broadcast he had not made any demand on the Opposition because he believed that the national interest required that “we should get together and find a reasonable solution to the problems”.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2019