Indira vs Zia
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi accused Pakistan President Zia-ul Haq of violating the Simla Agreement in letter and spirit. She attacked Zia on two specific counts: One was that President Zia has during the last few months sought to raise the Kashmir issue at various world forums, including the UN. The other was that he has sought to internationalise the recent riots in Moradabad. When asked what she thought of the current Pakistani mood for the normalisation of relations between the countries, Mrs Gandhi said, “Whose mood… General Zia’s or the Pakistani peoples’?” She did not think they are the same.
PM On Communalism
The prime minister said the problem of communalism had to be met “ politically and socially” by involving the largest number of people. She doubted if this evil could be tackled by banning communal parties. A vast majority of our people are against communalism, she said.
Train Collision
At least 20 persons were killed and 50 others were injured when the Bombay-bound Punjab Mail rammed into a stationary goods train near Itarsi. The Railway Protection Force and Madhya Pradesh police jawans engaged in the rescue operations were digging out more bodies from the damaged bogies and the toll was likely to go up, official sources said. Twenty of the injured were stated to be in a critical condition and eight of them had been shifted from Itarsi to the hospital at Bhopal, 120 km away.
Abadan Battle
As diplomatic efforts intensified, the battle for Abadan and Khorramshahr appeared to gather momentum at the northern rim of the Gulf. A Baghdad radio broadcast claimed Abadan’s approaches were being “hit with repeated tank assaults to wither down and then pierce its defences”
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