DATE=2/10/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=AFGHAN HIJACK / TALEBAN REACT (L)
NUMBER=2-259019
BYLINE=JIM TEEPLE
DATELINE=ISLAMABAD
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Taleban authorities in Afghanistan say they
are grateful to Britain for bringing the hijacking of
an Afghan airlines plane to a peaceful end.
Correspondent Jim Teeple reports from Islamabad
Taleban authorities also say they want the hijackers
brought to justice, but they do not intend to seek
their extradition from Britain.
TEXT: A statement issued by the Taleban's Supreme
Leader Mullah Mohammed Omar says the hijackers should
be dealt with according to international standards of
justice or as British authorities wish. Mullah Omar
also thanked British authorities for saving the lives
of the passengers and for bringing the hijacking to a
peaceful end.
Speaking at a news conference in the Kabul, the
Taleban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmad Mutawakil asked
Britain for help in returning the plane and passengers
to Afghanistan. Mr. Mutawakil also says the Taleban
are confident the hijackers will be brought to justice
in Britain and therefore the Taleban will not ask for
their extradition.
Mr. Mutawakil also says he believes the hijackers
might have links with Afghanistan's Northern Alliance,
which is fighting the Taleban in the northern part of
the country. Northern Alliance officials have denied
all involvement with the hijacking.
Retired Pakistani General Hamid Gul is a former
director of Pakistan's Interservices Intelligence
Agency, with wide experience in Afghanistan's recent
history. He says it is unlikely the Northern Alliance
would get involved in hijacking a plane full of
civilians.
// GUL ACT //
There is no political purpose behind this,
apparently there is no political purpose. It
does not serve the political purpose of the
Northern Alliance. In fact it would be a bit of
an embarrassment for them.
// END ACT //
At his news conference, the Taleban Foreign Minister
said he believed the weapons used in the hijacking
were smuggled onboard the plane by women who concealed
them underneath their all-covering veils, called
burqaa's. Several workers at Kabul's airport have
reportedly been detained and questioned in the case.
There is widespread speculation in the Afghan capital
that the hijacking was carried out by a group -
possibly related to each other --who wanted to defect.
// REST OPT //
Meanwhile, the Taleban Civil Aviation Minister, Maulvi
Akhtar Mansoor, told the Afghan Islamic Press, an
independent news agency in Pakistan, that the
hijackers should be - severely punished. He says if
they are not punished more hijackings could occur.
The Afghan Islamic Press also reports Ariana Airlines
wants the Boeing-727 returned quickly to Kabul because
it is needed to take Muslims on their pilgrimage to
Mecca. U-N sanctions bar Ariana from flying overseas,
but the airline RECENTLY RECEIVED A WAIVER FOR FLIGHTS
TO MECCA. (SIGNED)
NEB/JLT/RAE
10-Feb-2000 08:27 AM EDT (10-Feb-2000 1327 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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