3 OCTOBER 1947, Page 4

A letter from a British business man in Pakistan paints

a grim picture of the scenes there, notably at Lahore. One aspect of which the newspaper reports have said little is indicated in one pregnant sentence: " About half the town burnt out ; no shops open, no banks and no government ; municipal expenses R.too,000 per day, munici- pal income R. t6 per day." In a postscript the writer adds: " About 2,000,000 are praying to a variety of gods for the return of the British." There is no doubt an element of exaggeration there ; but there is no doubt equally an element of truth in it.

jANUS.