February 14, 2000

Afghan Taliban greet returning hostages with Korans, turbans, flowers
Monday, February 14 7:10 PM SGT
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Feb 14 (AFP) - Afghanistan's ruling Taliban authorities Monday welcomed home 73 hostages released from a hijacked Afghan jet with flowers, turbans and copies of the Koran.

Hijack victims arrive in Afghanistan
BBC
More than 70 passengers and crew from the hijacked Afghan airliner which landed in Britain a week ago have arrived in southern Afghanistan.
Britain Plans for Asylum Seekers
The Associated Press
Sunday, Feb. 13, 2000; 9:28 p.m. EST
LONDON –– Seventy-four asylum-seekers from a hijacked Afghan plane could be dispersed to the United States, India, Pakistan and elsewhere under a new plan being drafted by Britain, a foreign office spokesman said Monday.

Envoys seek refuge for ex-hostages
BY ZAHID HUSSAIN
IN KABUL AND MICHAEL BINYON
The Times (UK)
BRITISH diplomats spent the weekend scouring Central Asia in a search for Afghan communities willing to accept passengers from last week's Ariana Airlines hijacking.

'They should send them straight home'
The view from Gloucestershire
BY HELEN JOHNSTONE
The Times (UK)
2-14-2000
IN THE tearooms of Moreton-in-Marsh yesterday there was little sympathy for the plight of 105 asylum- seekers from the Stansted hijack. The Cotswold market town is more used to coping with the demands of affluent escapers from London than a

Afghans envy those who escaped oppressive regime
FROM ZAHID HUSSAIN
The Times (UK)
2-14-2000
MOST people in Kabul sympathise with the asylum-seekers.
"Everyone of us would do the same if given such an opportunity," said Mohiuddin, a shopkeeper in a deserted Kabul bazaar. Another said: "It is surprising that other passengers have opted to return."

AFGHAN ADVICE
Why Jack Straw should be cautious before heeding Taleban
The Times (UK)
2-14-2000
OPINION
When he cautioned Britain against granting political asylum to rescued hostages from Afghanistan, Taleban's Foreign Minister, Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil, was raising a concern which troubles his Islamist régime and the British Home Secretary almost

OIC mission to assess Afghan situation
By Raja Zulfikar
The News: Jang
2-14-2000
ISLAMABAD: In response to Chief Executive General Pervaiz Musharraf's visit to Iran and his fresh initiative aimed at peace in Afghanistan, a three-member delegation under the umbrella of Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) is expected to

Ariana hijack victims back in Afghanistan
By Sayed Salahuddin
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Seventy-three Afghans hijacked to London in an apparent bid by dozens more to win political asylum were feted with paper flowers and new clothes when they flew home on Monday.

Afghan Hostages Head Home, 13 Charged With Hijacking, AFP Says
London, Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Thirteen Afghan men were today formally charged with the hijack of an Ariana Afghan Airlines Boeing 727 on Feb. 6, Agence France-Presse reported, without citing sources. The accused, all aged between 18

UN finds no party responsible for mass killings in Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD (NNI): Confirming killings of civilians in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-I-Sharif in 1997 and 1998, a UN investigation team has however found no party responsible for the killings.

First wheat consignment from Pakistan arrives shortly in Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD (NNI): The Taliban Commerce Minister Maulvi Faiz Muhammad Faizan has said that Pakistan has pledged 25000 tones of wheat supplies to Afghanistan and the first consignment would arrive within couple of days.