NEW YORK: Prime Minister Bhutto has said that Pakistan might seek financial assistance from Arab countries for its military requirements if the United States persists in refusing to deliver arms to his country. In an interview with … the Christian Science Monitor, he, however, said that Pakistan has not yet turned to other countries because the United States has treaty obligations to supply arms to Pakistan. “Since we believe we have a strong case, we have not approached any other friendly country”. Mr Bhutto said: “We don’t want to give the United States the impression that we are closing the door”. …

Mr Bhutto told his interviewer that US-Pakistan bilateral agreements reached in the 1950s were not invalid. “They still retain their validity”. … The Prime Minister added that Pakistan might seek from Arab countries financial assistance for its military requirements on “easy terms”. He described these terms as terms which “would not cause crisis to Pakistan’s economy”. “We were valuable to our Arab friends in a time of war and we should be even more valuable to them in a time of peace,” he said. The Correspondent said Mr Bhutto rejected the idea of obtaining arms from Iran. — News agencies

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2023