Pakistan tells India not to drag it into hijack drama

The Times of India

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Friday night cautioned against any ``hysteria'' in India to drag Islamabad into the hijacking of the Indian Airlines aircraft and advocated an early dialouge between Indian authorities and the hijackers to avoid any greater harm.

Pakistan foreign minister Abdus Sattar was strongly critical of the Indian media for attempting to bring his country into the episode and said that some people in India have been hysterical.

In an interview to Pakistan TV, Sattar said India should act with ``probity, discretion and reason'' to avoid any greater harm. According to Sattar, best results in such situation are obtained through dialogue. ``I hope this is kept in view by the government of India,'' he added.

He also promised full cooperation to Indian authorities in bringing this ``horrible act'' to a safe end. Asked about possible motivations of the hijackers, Sattar said usually they have a sense of grievance against the authorities of the country concerned.

Sattar said the authorities have taken all contingency measures if the plane decides to enter its territory again. ``I assure that authorities, not only at airports or civil aviation people, but those who play a part in policy formulation have taken into account all contingencies and are prepared to deal with the situation if, God forbid, the plane heads back to Pakistan,'' he told the official APP news agency.

He also expressed sympathy for the passengers aboard the plane. He expressed words of compassion for the passengers and their ``relatives and friends.'' ``We are against all acts of terrorism,'' he said.

Taliban foreign minister Wakil Ahmed Mutawakil told the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) that India has been insisting Taliban somehow hold the plane inside Afghanistan. ``India is also insisting that we strike a deal with the hijackers. We are thinking how to save lives of the people on board the plane,'' Mutawakil said.

``The UN has also made contact with us for handling the situation safely,'' he said, while denying reports that the hijackers were asking for political asylum in Afghanistan.

AIP quoted Mulla Akhtar Mansoor, minister for civil aviation, that the hijackers' repeated request for talks had been turned down. ``They approached us in English language through the control tower for talks but we have refused,'' Mansoor said.

Both Mutawakil and information minister Abdul Hai Mutmain were at the airport, where dozens of security personnel were surrounding the aircraft to prevent anyone disembarking.

The International Committee of Red Cross has said it was ready and on stand-by to offer its services based on humanitarian grounds to bring the crisis to an end. A spokesman for the agency based in Kabul said that it wanted the bodies of the dead and those who needed medical treatment to be transferred to its base medical camp in the area.(Agencies)