The red carpet, band and phalanx of diplomats assembled at Rawalpindi's sun-splashed airport were in honor of a foreign visitor, but most of the crowd had come to see the host. Pakistani President Ayub Khan, 60, was making his first appearance in public since he suffered a complicated case of pneumonia three months ago. Thinner, but waving vigorously, he got on with his mission: to welcome Aleksei Kosygin, the first Russian Premier ever to visit Pakistan.
Even Kosygin accorded center stage to his recuperating host. After reading a bland opening statement, he turned and asked: "Did I do all right?"...