Israel on Wednesday bombed the outskirts of Beirut and other cities and villages in Lebanon, thus breaking the cease-fire it had entered into with the Palestinian forces in July last year. A communique issued by the Syrian army high command said that its airforce intervened to stop the assault. It said that two Syrian jets and one Israeli warplane crashed after a dogfight over East Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. An Israeli military spokesman in Jerusalem confirmed that two Syrian aircraft were shot down by Israeli warplanes. He said the downed aircraft were Soviet-built MiG 23 fighters that tried to intercept Israeli planes.
India is believed to have formally asked Pakistan to let it know whether it is backing out of the commitment it made in New Delhi during Agha Shahi’s visit in January accepting the Indian proposal for setting up a joint Indo-Pakistan commission. Some recent Interviews given by President Zia and Pakistan’s new Foreign Minister, Yaqub Khan, have caused considerable unease in New Delhi, which has already been perturbed over Pakistan’s formalising its annexation of Gilgit. Skardu, and Hunza. Pakistan’s Ambassador, Abdul Sattar, — who has returned to New Delhi after consultations with his government — has met Natwar Singh, Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, in this connection.
The Government enlarged the list of industries open to large houses and FERA companies to stimulate industrial growth and step up exports. The decision to revise the list was announced by Industry Minister N D Tiwari while replying to the debate on the demands for grants. Tiwari also announced a new scheme which would ensure increased utilisation of industrial capacity as part of the plan to liberalise investment procedure.
