Rawalpindi, Nov 8
Mr Zulfikar Bhutto, the former Pakistan Foreign Minister, said on his return from Peking today that diversionary action by China on India's northern frontier in the event of a war on the subcontinent was a “superficial matter”.

“We are not interested in diversions”, he said. “We are interested in the heart of the matter. We want peace. We cherish peace. We will never be the first to aggress or to fire the first shot. Those who will aggress against the sacred soil of Pakistan, they will be doomed on Pakistan soil.”

Mr Bhutto was answering a question about whether the Chinese had indicated if they would be prepared to undertake diversionary action on India’s northern frontier if war broke out. The assumption here has long been that Pakistan would look to China to hold down Indian troops in the north by such manoeuvres.

Mr Bhutto’s reply suggests that China will not risk raids across the Indian frontier to support Pakistan. The Chinese attitude is seen to reflect her fear of provoking Russian retaliation under the Indo-Soviet treaty as well as committing herself too deeply to what might be the losing side.

Mr Bhutto, who is the leader of the principal remaining political party here and is well known for his pro-China sympathies, described his visit as a “complete success in the complete sense of the word ”, after initially saying that he could make no comments about it until he had reported to President Yahya Khan.

He emphasized that the mission had produced “tangible” results, which is taken as a reference to a statement of support from the Chinese acting Foreign Minister and to the possibility that Pakistan has won promises of accelerated arms deliveries. But observers here believe that the absence of a joint communique, which is normal after such a meeting, is a sign that the Pakistanis did not get ail the assurances they wanted.

When it was suggested to Mr Bhutto that comparisons would inevitably be made with the more specific commitments of the Indo-Society treaty, he said: “We are more than satisfied with our discussions in China. We are not given to matching our performance with those of certain other countries.”

Delhi. Nov 8.—Renewed fighting has been reported near the Indian border town of Kamalpur, scene of heavy fighting last week between Indian and Pakistan troops.

Pakistan troops fired artillery into the north-eastern border village in Tripura state last Friday. an Indian Government spokesman said today.

Our Washington Correspondent writes: The State Department announced today that more than $3m (£1.2m) worth of Licences to export military equipment to Pakistan had been cancelled. Mr Charles Bray, the Department spokesman, said that the licences were being cancelled “by mutual consent”.