There was no issue of the paper on this date on account of the May Day holiday. The excerpt below is taken from the previous day`s edition.

EDITORIAL: The Law Minister has gone to Brussels as the President`s special envoy to discuss the apportionment of the debt liability between Pakistan and Bangladesh with the ... donor countries. The argument for Pakistan shouldering the burden of debts in what is now Bangladesh could have some credibility if the Consortium members had refused to recognise Bangladesh. ... They, however, not only recognised Bangladesh but also sponsored its candidature for the membership of the World Bank and other international financial institutions.

Since Pakistan and Bangladesh are not in rapport and mutual communications between them non-existent, the demand that they must come to terms on debt allocation by a given deadline seems to strain the laws of probability. ... The only obvious solution is to hold each responsible for the debts incurred on projects that are located on its territory. The other donors ... such as ... the USSR ... have written off Pakistan`s liabilities for debts utilised in Bangladesh.