HARARE Reuter: Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi accused Pakistan of bungling the storming of a hijacked American Jumbo Jet and of being responsible for a large number of deaths.
He told a news conference that the bloodshed at Karachi airport had been caused by a ham fisted attempt by Pakistan commandos to seize four gunmen holding 400 people hostage aboard the Pan American Airways Boeing 747.
And he charged Pakistan with encouraging hijacking and with acting as an arms conduit for hijackers of Indian aircraft.
“Because it (the storming) was done in a very ham fisted manner it resulted in the death of a large number of people” Gandhi said.
The accusations shocked aides of Pakistan President Zia-ul-Haq. He and Gandhi are among some 50 heads of state and government attending the eighth triennal summit of the nonaligned movement due to end today.
“This outburst is extremely surprising” a spokesman told Reuters. He said Pakistan had kept India fully informed of developments throughout the 16hour drama until the plane was stormed.
India and Pakistan are two of the most powerful nations in the 101 member nonaligned movement which embraces most of the world.
Gandhi said it was difficult to pinpoint who was directly responsible for seizing the aircraft on a flight from Bombay to New York via Karachi and Frankfurt. Seventeen passengers were killed and 65 wounded in a shootout between the hijackers and Pakistani forces. Most of the casualties were believed to be Indian.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 12, 1986
