CHITTAGONG: The Prime Minister, Mr Liaquat Ali Khan, addressing a large gathering here this afternoon [Oct 13] referred to the Government’s decision not to devalue the Pakistan rupee and said that that decision was made not on any political grounds but was dictated essentially by economic motives. The Government had all the time [to] view the condition of the growers of Pakistan’s crops, especially jute growers of Eastern Pakistan.

The Prime Minister made it clear that his Government had taken an irrevocable step and there was no question of their going back on their word.

India, he said, was now trying to put obstacles in the way of Pakistan’s trade by non-co-operation, but he wanted to tell that country that this short-sighted policy would lead them nowhere. Their actions would act as a boomerang and they were mistaken if they thought they could do any harm to Pakistan. Instead, they could promote chances of friendly relations between the two countries by recognising the Pakistan Government’s decision as an accomplished fact and proceed to deal with various problems in an open-hearted manner.

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2024