ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the Soviet Union have expressed their satisfaction over their annual consultations held here and agreed to continue their contacts at the United Nations and other international forums. In a statement on the visit to Pakistan of Soviet Special Envoy V.A. Zorin, a Foreign Office spokesman said here tonight [Aug 11] that items considered during his talks ... included questions on the agenda of the forthcoming UN General Assembly. … “Both sides explained their position and sought to enlarge the areas of mutual agreement,” the spokesman said. … ...[E]arlier talking to newsmen at the Islamabad airport … Mr Zorin … said their positions on many subjects were “very very close”. — News agencies

[Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies from New York,] US President Gerald Ford dropped [the] plan to go to India after his planned visit to China later this year, according to ‘Newsweek’ magazine. The magazine said the Indian visit had been dropped “in view of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s moves towards dictatorship”. It added that “White House staffers are now studying other stopovers, such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand”.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2025