RAWALPINDI, Jan 22: A plane carrying four military helicopters landed at Chaklala Airbase in the wee hours of Thursday, sources told Dawn.

Source said the huge military cargo plane which landed before dawn had come from Russia. However, this could not be confirmed.

The helicopters, which appeared to be of military type, were off-loaded amid tight security. Huge cranes were used for lifting the helicopter components out of the plane. The machines were then assembled on the tarmac by army engineers.

When Inter-Services Public Relations Director-General Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan was contacted, he denied the arrival of any such military consignment from Russia.

"The arrival of helicopters at Chaklala base is a routine matter, but today no such helicopters arrives from any country," he said. He denied the suggestion that some sensitive equipment might have arrived from a friendly country to strengthen President Gen Pervez Musharraf's security.