No Pakistani link to hijacking: Nepalese sources

Dawn
KATHMANDU, Jan 24: An investigation into the hijacking of an Indian Airlines jet from here on Christmas Eve has found no evidence to back allegations the Pakistani secret service was involved, Nepalese sources close to the inquiry said on Monday.

"The probe has failed to collect any solid proof of involvement by the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) of Pakistan in the hijacking," one investigation source said.

But the head of the five-member investigation committee, Hem Bahadur Singh, declined to comment to reporters on whether the ISI was involved.

"We have wrapped up the security and other matters in the report," said Singh, a former police inspector general.

In a 64-page document to Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Vijaya Kumar Gachheddar, the investigators recommended the government beef-up security at Tribhuvan International Airport, where the hijacking started.

"After presenting the report to the cabinet on Thursday, I will reveal the gist of the contents of the investigations made by the special five-man committee," Singh said.

The eight-day hijack drama, which began when five men seized the flight from Nepal to New Delhi, ended News Year's Eve at Kandahar airport in southern Afghanistan.

India released three pro-Kashmir Mujahideen in exchange for 160 hostages, and the hijackers disappeared from Kandahar.

Pakistan has rejected Indian charges the country was involved in the crisis, saying neither Islamabad nor the ISI had any role.-AFP