LAHORE: Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto today [Aug 1] said Pakistan wanted to have friendly relations with neighbourly Muslim Afghanistan but the latter must accept the inviolability of the Durand Line. Once this position was accepted … there will be free flow of traffic and joint economic ventures between the two countries and the border line would cease to be of any consequence as was the case between various European countries. … …[T]he [PM] said that we had tried our level best to maintain good relations with Afghanistan but whatever happened in Afghanistan they put blame on us and unnecessarily drive us into their problems.

[News agencies add, Mr Bhutto] held out an assurance that the present Government will hold free and fair elections which, according to the constitution, are a year and a half ahead. He was talking to newsmen at Governor’s House. … He said if the Opposition managed to get the people’s majority, best of luck to them because that was the way democracy worked. … Otherwise, he added, “you can’t do undemocratic things and then say it is democracy”. He said democracy was applicable to every one... .

Published in Dawn, Aug 2nd, 2025