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December 25, 1999
ELECTION 99
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Hijackers want Harkat leader released
Onkar Singh, Tara Shankar Sahay, Neena Haridas in New Delhi
In this story:
The hijackers of Flight 814 want Maulana Masood Azhar, the Harkat-ul Ansar secretary who has been imprisoned in Delhi's Tihar jail for six years, to be released along with some other Kashmiri militants. Unconfirmed reports say the Maulana's younger brother is one of the hijackers. The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has conveyed this demand to the United Nations headquarters in New York as the hijackers believe only the UN can end the crisis. The hijackers are unwilling to leave Afghanistan despite a request to this effect by the Taliban. They also want to fly to Kabul from Kandahar. However, it is unlikely that their demand will be conceded tonight, since Kabul airport has no night landing facilities. According to the BBC, a Kandahar airport official said the air pirates told Taliban officials that they would land in Kabul if forced to leave the airport. "If permission for landing in Kabul is not given, then we will crash the plane... We won't leave Afghanistan," the official quoted a hijacker as saying. India expects developments in resolving the crisis on Sunday, Minister of External Affairs Jaswant Singh told reporters today. "I expect developments to take shape sometime tomorrow morning. The government is taking all steps that are prudent and effective," he added. However, he revealed that there was no third-party mediation to end the crisis. Asked if any country had offered its services to resolve the issue, the minister contended, "India has taken the initiative in all these matters." Denying any role in the incident, Pakistan has also 'begun talks' with the Taliban to end the crisis. A senior minister and Pakistan's ambassador in Kabul are said to be involved in the negotiations. The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has assured India of all co-operation in handling the situation. However, it is yet to take a decision on helping New Delhi in securing the release of the passengers and crew of the Indian Airlines plane. The ruling Taliban rejected a request for political asylum from the hijackers and asked them to leave Kandahar. "The hijackers wanted political asylum, but we have rejected that," an official at Kandahar airport said. "We are discussing their departure." The official said the Indian government had asked the Taliban not to permit Flight 814 to take off. He said the Taliban was trying to resolve the issue without any further loss of life. According to unconfirmed reports, the aircraft, which has 161 people on board, has been refuelled. The hijackers were also 'identified' in a phone call to the air control authorities at the Delhi airport this afternoon. Claiming the hijackers were members of the Islamic Salvation Front, an unidentified caller demanded the release of three of their comrades imprisoned in India. However, Jaswant Singh said the government did not have any information about the identity of the hijackers. He said the Centre was not aware of their 'demands'. While diplomatic efforts continued, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Chamanlal Gupta ruled out the immediate release of the passengers aboard the Indian Airlines flight. The passengers were served with food, fruits and soft drinks, Gupta added. They have also been supplied with blankets. Kandahar is very cold. The forecast for Saturday was a high of 18 degrees Celsius and a low of minus 10 degrees. In another development, Saudi-born terrorist Osama bin Laden reiterated that India, the US and Russia are the enemies of Islam. He said the jihad in Kashmir would continue. His statement comes less than 24 hours after the hijack. After 13 hours of high drama, the Airbus 300 landed in Kandahar, Afghanistan's second biggest city, at 0833 IST on Saturday, though it was earlier headed for Kabul. Early this morning, Aviation Secretary Ravinder Gupta said the air traffic control at Kandahar indicated it would not allow any of the passengers to disembark. However, the Afghan authorities said they would provide all humanitarian assistance to the crew and passengers. The hijackers asked for food, medical assistance and more fuel at Kandahar. It is not known why they need more fuel since the aircraft obtained 30,000 litres of aviation turbine fuel in the UAE this morning. "They are silent about their demands," one official at Delhi airport said. Rupin Katyal died soon after his wedding
The hijackers released three men (two of them above the age of 70), nine women, 13 children and one unidentified person from the Airbus 300 at a military base near Dubai in the United Arab Emirates before taking off for Afghanistan, Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani said. Officials confirmed that at least one passenger had been killed and one is grievously injured. Reports said the slain passenger had been stabbed to death. The dead victim has been identified by the authorities as Rupin Katyal, 25. A resident of Delhi, Rupin got married on December 3 and flown to Kathmandu for his honeymoon. His wife Rachna is still aboard the plane. His father was rushed to hospital in a critical condition after he took ill on hearing about his son's death. He was to return on Wednesday, but delayed his return by two fateful days. Indian Airlines have set up a medical team at Delhi airport to look after the relatives of the passengers. All those released were Indian nationals, UAE defence officials said. The nationality of the hijackers, who were carrying grenades and knives, was not known, the officials added. The two 70-plus passengers, who asked not to be identified, were present at the press conference. One of them told reporters that it was difficult to identify the hijackers as they were wearing turbans. "They asked us not to move or they would shoot. All the passengers were blindfolded by the hijackers. However, there were no gun shots," the released men said. '"We were released because of our age," they said. Medical reports from Dubai suggest that the released passengers are in good condition, though some of them are slightly injured.
Kashmiri separatists deny involvement The Islamic Salvation Front in Kashmir is shrouded in mystery and J&K watchers do not have an idea about its origins. The Indian Airlines plane left the Al-Minhat military base at 0447 Dubai Time (0617 IST) after taking in 30,000 litres of aviation turbine fuel and appeared to be headed for Kabul. Later, however, it landed in Kandahar, though the reason for the change of plan was not clear. India does not recognise the Taliban regime and has no diplomatic relations with Afghanistan. Taliban spokesman Nurullah Zardar said the Indian government had requested permission to allow the plane to land in Afghanistan because the Airbus was running short of fuel. Advani had earlier said the flight to Afghanistan was "a matter of concern." Asked if the hijackers had any links with the Taliban, Zardar said, "None whatsoever." He said the hijackers wanted to land at Kabul or Kandahar last night, but neither airport has the appropriate landing gear after being ravaged in that nation's civil war. The plane has already taken off and landed eight times in less than 24 hours. And while international safety regulations prohibit a pilot from flying more than seven hours, Captain Saran and his crew have been at the job for well over 32 hours now. Civil Aviation Minister Sharad Yadav left Dubai this evening in a special IA Airbus 320 with the 25 passengers who had been released by the hijackers. The aircraft, with 25 of the 26 released passengers on board, took off at 1950 IST from Dubai. One of the injured passengers is still in a Dubai hospital. The take-off of the plane, which was initially scheduled to reach New Delhi by 1830 IST, was delayed due to Yadav's insistence that Rupin Katyal's body should be taken in the aircraft. The body was handed over to Indian authorities after completion of formalities, sources said. The special plane is expected to reach New Delhi at 2300 IST. Addressing the media in Dubai, Yadav quoted the released passengers as saying there were six hijackers. Earlier reports had put their number at five. However, Jaswant Singh said indications were that there were seven hijackers. The passengers were released following negotiations by a high-powered team of UAE government representatives led by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan. Meanwhile, Ram Chameli, the mother of some of the passengers on board Flight 814, has threatened to immolate herself at Delhi airport if her children are not released to her. She wants the government to accede to the hijackers's demands and get the passengers released. Rakesh Mehta, a passenger who flew from Kathmandu on a Royal Nepal Airlines flight on Friday soon after Flight 814 left Nepal, told reporters at Delhi airport that there was virtually no security at the Tribhuvan international airport. Mehta, whose colleague Anup Sharma is aboard Flight 814, said, "I am not surprised the hijackers got away carrying the weapons. Even the men manning the x-ray machine did not look interested in what we were carrying." Additional reportage: UNI INFORMATION: Contact numbers at Delhi airport for information:
011-565-3579
Click here for the list of passengers released in Dubai
MESSAGE BOARD: Tell us what you think the government should do now 'Get into Afghanistan and kill the hijackers': What Readers Said RELATED REPORTS:
Hijackers demand Maulana Masood Azhar's release
'I lost my son...'
EARLIER REPORTS:
Hijacked IA plane lands at air force base in UAE
EARLIER REDIFF SPECIALS:
Blood in the snow
EXTERNAL LINKS:
Osama bin Laden: Holy Terror?
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