Five more hostages released

By Thomas Abraham

LONDON, FEB. 7. Five hostages from the hijacked Afghan airliner which landed at London's Stansted airport early on Monday were released after negotiations with the British authorities, leaving another 160 passengers and crew still on board.

The Ariana airlines Boeing 727 landed at Stansted airport from Moscow shortly after 2 a.m. on Monday at the end of a 22-hour- long journey that had begun at Kabul.

The aircraft, which had been on an internal flight to Mazar-e- Sharif in northern Afghanistan, had first been flown to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where 10 passengers had been released, then to the Kazak town of Aktyubinsk, where another three passengers were freed. After a leaking engine was repaired, the aircraft flew to Moscow, where the hijackers let another nine passengers go. The aircraft headed for western Europe and eventually landed at Stansted.

Two men a woman and two children were freed around noon on Monday, leaving 18 women and 19 children among those still aboard. All the passengers are thought to be Afghan nationals.

Stansted, about 30 km outside London, is the airport designated for such emergencies, and has staff trained to cope with hijacking. The airport was guided to an isolated corner of the airport several kilometres from the main terminal, after which trained police negotiators opened talks with the hijackers.

The hijackers are reported to have demanded the release of Ismail Khan, a former mujahideen commander who has now been jailed by the Taliban.

In marked contrast to their policy during the hijack of the Indian Airlines aircraft in Kandahar, the Taliban has refused to negotiate with the hijackers, and has hinted that the British Government should storm the aircraft to resolve the problem. A Taliban representative in Europe, Mr. Rahmatuallah Safi, was quoted by the British Press Association news agency as saying that ``We are confident that the British authorities understand the meaning of terrorism, and how to deal with hijackers.'' He added ``we are not going to have any negotiations by any means or under any circumstances with the hijackers.''

According to Mr. Safi, the hijacking had been planned by Mr. Ahmad Shah Masood, the anti-Taliban leader who controls a small pocket of territory in Afghanistan.

Though specially trained SAS commandos are believed to be on hand to storm the aircraft if necessary, the focus of the British efforts so far has been to ensure the release of passengers, and to ensure the safety and comfort of those still in the aircraft.

``Our principal concern remains the welfare of those on board, and to this end, we are discussing the delivery of food and medication to those on board,'' Mr. John Broughton, a senior police officer, said. On the hijackers request, the aircraft had been supplied with a generator, as well as supplies of food and drink. After the release of the five hostages, Mr. Broughton said negotiations with the hijackers were ``at a very critical stage''.

The aircraft had entered British airspace at around 1 a.m., and had asked permission to land, which was immediately granted. ``It was pretty much a formality given our international obligations and our concern for the passengers, given the shortage of fuel.'' Britain, in keeping with international practice, allows hijacked aircraft to land, but does not normally allow them to leave with hostages on board. With the Taliban unbending, the hijackers have little option but to surrender, or face armed action.

Reuters reports:

At Moscow, Russia's Foreign Ministry has said it agreed to refuel the aircraft and allowed it to leave a Moscow airport out of concern for the hostages.

``The decision was taken to refuel the aircraft and grant permission for takeoff on the basis of a desire to ensure the safety of the passengers on board and in accordance with international agreements,'' a Ministry statement said today. ``In response, 10 hostages were released.''

A spokesman for Britain's Transport Department, however, expressed surprise that the plane had been given permission to leave Sheremetyevo-1 airport overnight.

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