BELGRADE: The Indian Premier, Mrs. Indira Gandhi … has pledged that India will seek a durable peace with Pakistan. Speaking at a banquet here last night [June 15] after an opening round of political talks with President Josip Broz Tito, Mrs. Gandhi said: “We shall persevere in our quest for enduring peace with Pakistan in spite of rapid changes of mood and manner in that country. Our objective is durable relations of quality, trust, friendship and co-operation among all the nations of the Sub-continent and immediate neighbourhood.”

Mrs. Gandhi was replying to a toast proposed by her Yugoslav counterpart, Mr. Dzemal Bijedic, who expressed Yugoslavia’s concern over events in Indo-China and the Middle East. He also urged that Indo-Pakistan problems should be solved without foreign interference. — News agencies

[Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies from Islamabad,] the Pakistan Government has sent a protest Note to India through the Swiss Embassy for its continued anti-Pakistan and malicious propaganda through All India Radio. … [T]he Government … has said that All India Radio was waging malicious propaganda against Pakistan and its leadership. This was against the spirit of the Simla Agreement, the letter added.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2023