KARACHI: ...Mr Shuaib Qureshi, has been appointed Pakistan`s first Ambassador to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The announcement was made last night (Sunday) [Oct 30] ... by the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. `Pakistan is pledged to the maintenance of world peace and ... we shall cooperate with every country and certainly with the USSR,` the Ambassador-designate told Dawn in an interview shortly after the announcement.

He added: `Heavy responsibility has fallen on my shoulders. But, given goodwill and friendly approach of which there is evidence in abundance, I hope we shall succeed in our objectives. My efforts would be directed towards fostering good neighbourly relations between Pakistan and Russia.

Staff correspondent [Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies in Lake Success,] a ... spokesman for the Arab nations told the United Press of America yesterday [Oct 30] that the Arab nations would reject categorically the `Israeli` request for direct negotiations for settlement of `Israel`s` borders. [He] said that no official stand would be taken ... until their delegations ... had time to consult, but stressed it was a foregone conclusion that the `Israeli` proposalwillbe rejected.