Ball in India’s court: UN official

ISLAMABAD, Dec 28 (PTI) — Senior UN official Erik de Mul today said that the hijackers of the Indian Airlines plane had conveyed their demands and it was up to the Indian Government now to bring the five-day long hijack crisis to an end.

UN’s Afghanistan coordinator De Mul, who returned here from Kandahar where the hijacked plane is parked after negotiating with the hijackers for three days, said the situation was getting “worrisome” and the hijackers were gradually becoming irritated.

The situation is “worrisome” and the condition of 154 passengers and crew held hostage was bad as they were denied food for almost 24 hours, he told reporters at Islamabad airport.

“The danger is always there,” a tired looking de Mul said when asked whether he apprehended the hijackers would start killing the hostages if their demands were not met.

The UN official, who reached Kandahar Sunday morning after New Delhi sought the help of the world body in resolving the crisis, said the hijackers had conveyed all their demands to the Indian Government.

“I hope that the (Indian) government will be able to come to a positive result and bring this to an end,” he said.

De Mul said when he reached Kandahar on Sunday, the first thing he tried to ascertain was to know the demands of the hijackers. “But the hijackers said the demands have been conveyed (to the government of India)”.

“I think there may have been more than one channel of communication between them and the Indian authorities”, he said.

He also hinted that when the Indian delegation arrived in Kandahar yesterday they were aware of the demands. “I think the delegation tried to verify and confirm the demands” which relate to setting free a number of persons held in Indian prisons, de Mul said.

The UN official said that despite his repeated attempts to know the demands the hijackers told him there was no reason to repeat those.

Asked whether he was hopeful of the crisis coming to an end today, he said: “They are negotiating, but I cannot say more than that... India has sent quite a big team (of negotiators) full of experienced people, so there is good hope that it can be brought to a good end.”

Commenting on the condition of passengers, who have been kept as hostages inside the hijacked plane for five days now, the UN official said, “Our feeling is that the passengers must be extremely tired and exhausted.”

He said the passengers were not getting food properly. They were provided regular food only on Saturday and Sunday but yesterday the hijackers refused to allow the food to be served and “the whole day they (passengers) went without food and after almost 24 hours they were given food this morning,” de Mul said.