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The untold story: why India did not allow hijacked aircraft to land

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

India is determined to foil all moves towards mischief by Pakistan, which was why the Indian authorities expressly forbade permission to the hijacked Pakistan International Airlines Fokker Friendship aircraft to land in Indian territory.

According to senior government officials, a similar incident had been witnessed soon after the 1974 peaceful nuclear explosion by India. A PIA aircraft was then hijacked and forced to land in Amritsar. Thereafter, Pakistani authorities had sought to give a bad name to India by trying to convince the world community that by resorting to hijacking of Pakistani aircraft, India was trying to upset Pakistan.

These officials pointed out that given India's experience in 1974, the authorities in New Delhi, especially Indian Air Force personnel, had flatly denied permission to the hijacked PIA Fokker Friendship aircraft to land in New Delhi or anywhere else on Indian territory. Reports in the media had said the hijackers, armed with pistols, had demanded that the aircraft be flown to New Delhi.

It was stressed that Islamabad is trying to paint India in negative shades soon after New Delhi's five underground nuclear explosions on May 11 and 13 this year. For this purpose, it was pointed out, the authorities in Islamabad were expected to go to any extent.

Meanwhile, it is understood that contrary to earlier reports, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will attend the SAARC meeting in Colombo in July.

With Pakistan mounting an elaborate campaign to tarnish India's image following the latter's recent underground tests, New Delhi has unleashed an equally comprehensive campaign to counter it. The officials pointed out that New Delhi was already engaged in emphasising to the world community that given the explosive security scenario in the South Asian region, it had no option but to go ahead with the tests.

It is learnt that the crux of New Delhi's message to the world community regarding the test is this: China's continuing clandestine nuclear and missile help to Pakistan was being ignored eve by the Clinton administration, leaving India exposed to dangers from across its western and north-eastern borders. Instead of stopping the clandestine Beijing-Islamabad nexus, which had also been noted by the CIA and other US intelligence agencies, Washington had virtually remained an idle spectator as far as India was concerned. That is why New Delhi conducted the recent underground tests at Pokhran.

It was emphasised that as reflected in the media, even leading American analysts and commentators had taken cognisance of the Indian standpoint on the nuclear issue and understood New Delhi's compulsions to go ahead with the nuclear tests. This had apparently disheartened the Pakistani authorities to such an extent that apart from mouthing abuse and acrimony against India, they were indulging in certain exercises to defame and tarnish India's image, it was pointed out.

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