ANKARA: Turkey and Pakistan today [Oct 18] agreed to “devote [all their] efforts to bring about a cease-fire” in the Middle East. A joint communique issued at the end of an official visit by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto said the two sides shared a common concern about the grave situation in the Middle East. The communique added they reaffirm their opposition to the occupation of territory by the use of force. — News agencies

[Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies from Washington,] Pentagon spokesman William Beecher claimed here ... that Israeli pilots have duelled with MIGs flown by North Korean pilots over Egypt. He said that the fight, south of Cairo, was a brief one. … Beecher said the Korean piloted MIGs had been loaned to the Egyptian Air Force. This was the first time that the Pentagon had announced any involvement in the Mid East fighting on the part of North Korean pilots, some 30 of whom were in Egypt before hostilities broke out. … In answer to questions, Beecher said that the Israelis had indicated their belief that pilots from other Communist countries were flying with the Egyptian and Syrian Air Forces, but said there was no proof of this.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2023