Page 7 · Opinion

Transitional legal steps

DIR (Malakand Division): Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto today [Nov 11] announced transitional legal measures for the districts of Dir, Swat and Chitral. These measures were announced in detail in Pashto by the NWFP Chief Minister, Mr Nasrullah Khan Khattak, at a big public meeting here addressed by Prime Minister Bhutto. The [PM] said the measures did not envisage Agency status, nor would these areas become equivalent to a settled district. He said he had contemplated announcing the measures during his current tour and it had nothing to do with the recent incident at Dir. Mr Bhutto said the incident had been the result of a conspiracy against the people by the agents of the deposed Nawab... . It was fanned by ‘Thekadars’ who wanted to take illegal advantage of the rich forests of Dir, he said. News agencies [Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies from Cairo,] President Anwar Sadat said tonight [Nov 11] that he was allowing the formation of three new political parties in Egypt, ending 24 years of one-party rule.

The parties, made up of centrists, rightists and leftists, would operate alongside the .

the Arab Socialist Union, President Sadat said.