KARACHI: President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto decla­red here yesterday [June 24] that he would not “sign the death warrant of Pakistan” during his summit talks with Mrs Indira Gandhi. Speaking extempore in Urdu at the ... Pakistan Naval Aca­d­­­emy … the President said that he was going to India to safeguard the territorial integrity of the country. … The President emphatically declared that he would not yield to any pressures during the talks as “I am not the man to barter away the interest of Pakistan”. He said he would prefer death to a life under domination. — News agencies

[Meanwhile, according to news agencies in New Delhi,] Prime Minister Indira Gandhi said ... she expects no “far-reaching or immediate results” from the India-Pakistan summit meeting which starts Wednesday [May 28] at Simla. But Mrs Gandhi said she hoped the historic meeting ... would “open doors to a new relationship” with Pakistan. …

Mrs Gandhi said that she and President Bhutto could discuss any issue at the meeting, including the repatriation of some 93,000 prisoners of war. But she said that no decisions could be taken on any matter involving Bangladesh, without consultation with and concurrence of Bangladesh leaders. — News agencies

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2022