FBI asks Pak. Govt. to help trace IA hijackers

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, NOV. 26. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is believed to have sought the Pakistan Government's help in tracing the hijackers of Indian Airlines flight IC-814, which was hijacked on its way to New Delhi from Kathmandu in December last.

The Pakistani weekly, Friday Times, has reported that the five hijackers are alleged to have entered Pakistan after securing the release of three militants, including Maulana Masood Azhar, on December 31 last.

The IC-814 was hijacked on December 24 while it was on its way to New Delhi. It was first diverted to Amritsar and after forced to take-off from there, finally ended up in Kandahar in Afghanistan and the ordeal for the 167 passengers on board lasted for a whole week.

The FBI has registered a case, as one of the passengers, Ms. Jeanne More, is a U.S. national. Quoting sources, the weekly has said the FBI has interviewed her to establish the identity of the hijackers. The FBI is also believed to have examined the eleven- crew members and 156 passengers.

According to the report, the FBI is convinced that the plane was hijacked by some Kashmiri elements.

The weekly has said that following its investigations and interaction with the Central Bureau of Investigation, the FBI has now approached the Pakistan Government for help in ascertaining the identity of the hijackers.

It said the FBI has recently set up an office in Islamabad and is reportedly working closely with Pakistani security officials for establishing a joint working group on counter-terrorism.

The weekly has said as per FBI investigations, the hijackers most probably belonged to the militant outfit, Harkat- ul-Mujahideen, which is active in Kashmir. Originally known as Harkat-ul Jihad-e-Islami and renamed as Harkat-ul Mujahideen, the name was once again changed to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen after the U.S. State Department declared it a terrorist outfit.

It said that the FBI investigators are convinced that the hijackers are still in touch with Maulana Masood Azhar and working for Jaish-e-Mohammad. Maulana Masood Azhar, a cleric known for oratory skills, set up Jaish shortly after his return to Pakistan following the swap at Kandahar.

``The US investigators believe that after a brief period of inactivity, during which he got married, Azhar travelled to Afghanistan and met Saudi fugitive, Osama Bin Laden, who is believed to have extended generous funding to the Jaish'', the weekly said.

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