Lahore: One recent morning the headline in most newspapers here read: Pakistan Humbles India. The Pakistan Times went a shade better and said: Pakistan Crushes India. The headlines had nothing to do with the war preparations going on in both countries, but referred to Pakistan hockey team's victory over India in the world cup semi-final at Barcelona.

In the absence of causes to beef up national self- confidence, the Pakistan press was seizing upon the hockey victory as a heroic feat. It reflected the current mood in the country when countless posters saying "Crush India" are pasted on car windows and walls everywhere. This week President Yahya Khan added to the war of nerves by saying a showdown with India was imminent. He was quite confident that China would give him full backing.

The day I arrived in Lahore, all India Radio had reported people were fleeing this border city. There was no evidence of this. On the contrary, bazaars were crowded and business was going on as ever. A young Pakistani doctor, asked how he estimated the prospects of a war, said: "Possible, but I can't believe it will come."

That was the general feeling even at Batapur, within hailing distance of the Indian border. This small town was the scene of heavy fighting during the 1965 war. But none of the 3,200 workers in the shoe factory which sustains the town had left the place and only a few had sent their families away. The Australian manager of the factory, who was here in 1965, explained: "This time we feel much better protected."

Preparedness for the worst is of course another matter. Numerous bunkers and trenches have been dug on both sides of the road which once connected Lahore with Amritsar in India. Peasants however were busy in the fields right up to the checkpost of Wagah. The picture was different further north towards Sialkot and the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The bulk of Pakistani troops appeared to be concentrated in this sector and local people said some border villages had been evacuated. But this was done voluntarily. It seemed obvious that, should war come, the action would be on the western side of the subcontinent rather than in the east where current troubles originated.Lahore: One recent morning the headline in most newspapers here read: Pakistan Humbles India. The Pakistan Times went a shade better and said: Pakistan Crushes India. The headlines had nothing to do with the war preparations going on in both countries, but referred to Pakistan hockey team's victory over India in the world cup semi-final at Barcelona.

In the absence of causes to beef up national self- confidence, the Pakistan press was seizing upon the hockey victory as a heroic feat. It reflected the current mood in the country when countless posters saying "Crush India" are pasted on car windows and walls everywhere. This week President Yahya Khan added to the war of nerves by saying a showdown with India was imminent. He was quite confident that China would give him full backing.

The day I arrived in Lahore, all India Radio had reported people were fleeing this border city. There was no evidence of this. On the contrary, bazaars were crowded and business was going on as ever. A young Pakistani doctor, asked how he estimated the prospects of a war, said: "Possible, but I can't believe it will come."

That was the general feeling even at Batapur, within hailing distance of the Indian border. This small town was the scene of heavy fighting during the 1965 war. But none of the 3,200 workers in the shoe factory which sustains the town had left the place and only a few had sent their families away. The Australian manager of the factory, who was here in 1965, explained: "This time we feel much better protected."

Preparedness for the worst is of course another matter. Numerous bunkers and trenches have been dug on both sides of the road which once connected Lahore with Amritsar in India. Peasants however were busy in the fields right up to the checkpost of Wagah. The picture was different further north towards Sialkot and the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The bulk of Pakistani troops appeared to be concentrated in this sector and local people said some border villages had been evacuated. But this was done voluntarily. It seemed obvious that, should war come, the action would be on the western side of the subcontinent rather than in the east where current troubles originated.