RAWALPINDI: President Bhutto said tonight [Sept 17] that Pakistan had most cordial relations with Iran and Turkey on the one side and with the People’s Republic of China on the other. “We are proud of this relationship on both sides of Pakistan,” he said, while proposing a toast to Queen Farah Pehlavi at a banquet… . The President wished success to the Queen’s mission to the People’s Republic of China and said it was going to be most rewarding and contribute to peaceful relations in “our troubled world”. — News agencies

[Meanwhile, according to news agencies in Beirut,] The Lebanese troops were still fighting the withdrawing Israeli forces in South Lebanon today [Sept 17], a Lebanese Army Command statement said. The statement … said the Israelis were continuing their slow withdrawal … following yesterday’s thrust into Southern Lebanon. … Lebanese Prime Minister Saeb Salam said that … they [Israel] wanted to divide the Lebanese and … bring about a clash between them and Palestinians who have legitimate rights… . Lebanon has always proved that it would be united in the face of aggression, Mr. Salam said, and Israel’s first objective was, therefore, impossible to attain. “As for the second objective the enemy has failed to achieve it in the past… .”

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2022