LAHORE: If faith in democracy has to be sustained in the ECAFE countries, there must be an immediate amelioration of [their] hardships … and, “let us strive to attain such conditions of existence that the peoples of the East may also play their part in carrying human life forward,” said Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan while inaugurating the seventh session of the Economic Commission on Asia and the Far East in Lahore this morning [Feb 28].

Referring to the Colombo Plan the Prime Minister said though it is a fine endeavour it did not promise more than to sustain the very meagre level of life at the present. He doubted whether in the great ocean of misery ... which comprised Asia and the Far East, the loan of a few technicians, the grant of a few scholarships and a periodical compilation of economic data could … remove poverty... .

There was ... disappointment ... that the Colombo Plan did not promise [to do] more than ... prevent further deterioration in the standard of living ... he said. [He] appealed to the delegates to “help the peoples of these regions to help themselves in acquiring a better state of existence.” — Special correspondent

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2026