India accuses Taliban, Pakistani intelligence of aiding hijackers

NEW DELHI, March 13 (AFP) - Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh Monday accused Afghanistan's Taliban regime and Pakistan's ISI intelligence agency of cooperating with Muslim militants in the Indian Airlines hijacking saga.

Singh told the lower house of parliament the December 24-31 hijacking was "an exceptionally professional and complex operation."

The Kathmandu-Delhi flight was hijacked in Indian airspace.

After refuelling in Pakistan and stopping in Dubai -- where 27 hostages were released, along with the body of a passenger killed by the hijackers -- the plane landed in the Afghan city of Kandahar.

"Kandahar (was) possibly the most adverse location for us from where to address the situation, and the triangular coordination of the incident by the hijackers, the Taliban and HUM (the Pakistan-based Hizbul Mujahedeen Muslim rebel outfit) and ISI operatives a most demanding challenge," he said.

The hostages were finally freed after India released three jailed Kashmiri militants, whom Singh personally escorted to Kandahar.

The exchange drew flack both at home and abroad, but Singh defended the decision Monday, saying it was the "best possible solution in a basket of worse alternatives" to end the drama.

The hijackers were never arrested and are now widely believed to be in Pakistan, together with the freed Kashmiri militants.