KARACHI: Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto has expressed “deep appreciation of the invaluable assistance” being provided by the Soviet Union to Pakistan in her efforts to bring about fundamental changes in the country’s economy, according to a Press release of the Soviet Embassy. In a message to weekly “Moscow News” ... Mr Bhutto recalled his recent visit to Moscow, and said that his discussions with Communist Party leader Leonid Brezhnev and Premier Alexei Kosygin reflected “mutual conviction that the development of friendly and good-neighbourly relations between Pakistan and the Soviet Union was completely in accord with the interests of the Soviet and Pakistani peoples and served the cause of strengthening peace and security in Asia and throughout the world”.

[Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies from Rawalpindi,] the United Arab Emirates today [Jan 6] pledged an amount of rupees 8 crore (8 million dollars) as a high-level meeting here assessed damage caused by the recent earthquake in Swat and Hazara districts. ... The UAE Ambassador in Islamabad, Mr Abdullah Darvish, called at the Foreign Office ... to convey his Government’s decision to the Government of Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2025