NEW DELHI: President Bhutto has agreed to a summit meeting in reply to a letter from Mrs Indira Gandhi, informed sources said here today [April 9]. The sources said official circles welcomed Mr Bhutto’s answer. They also said India would request a preliminary preparatory meeting between the emissaries of the two countries. Preliminary talks would take place in Pakistan, with Mr. D.P Dhar, Chairman of the Indian Foreign Ministry’s Political Committee, as Mrs Gandhi’s Special Envoy. The initial talks will be devoted almost solely to laying down an agenda. The summit would be held at the end of April, said the sources. — News agencies

[Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies in Peshawar,] The National Awami Party and Jamiatul Ulema Islam today [April 9] rejected the People’s Party proposals and emphasised that the March Tripartite Accord was still intact and they strictly adhered to it in letter and spirit. Khan Abdul Wali Khan and Maulana Mufti Mahmud told newsmen after a joint meeting between the leaders of the two parties that NAP and JUI had not been consulted about the new PPP proposals and there was no question of their acceptance.

[Staff correspondent adds,] The deadlock between the three parties which resulted in the breakup of the March 6 accord … seemed to be resolving when Maulana Mufti Mahmud called on the President and got “fresh hints”… .

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2022