Musharraf accused of 'hijacking' planes

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ISLAMABAD, Jan 17: Pakistan Muslim League-N MNA Tehmina Daultana accused President Gen Pervez Musharraf of the responsibility for what she called the "hijacking" of two aircraft, and vowed to move court in this regard.

Speaking at a news conference at her residence here on Saturday evening, Ms Daultana narrated an incident in which she said a PIA plane in which she was coming from Lahore to Islamabad to attend parliament's joint session was diverted to Peshawar.

She said before taking them to Peshawar, she and other passengers were kept "hostage" for over an hour at the Islamabad airport.

Another plane, she said, was sent back to Karachi in which some MNAs, including PPP's Syed Khursheed Shah, were coming.

She said first the flight took off from Lahore after one hour's delay and when it reached the Islamabad airport, the plane staff told them that they could not come out of the aircraft as there was a bomb scare at the airport. The PML-N MNA said the doors of the aircraft were not opened for more than an hour although a gangway had also been fixed to it.

Ms Daultana said she made a hue and cry and even knocked at the door of the pilot's cockpit, but nobody responded. Later, she said, the plane was taken to Peshawar where the passengers were escorted to a lounge by the agencies and police officials.

She said the passengers watched the president's address on a TV set at the Peshawar airport. Soon after Gen Musharraf's address was over, she added, the passengers were brought to Islamabad in the same aircraft.

Ms Daultana said there was a child in the plane who was seriously ill and needed medication. The man carrying the child told PIA staff that the parents of the child were waiting at the airport with medicines but nobody listened to him, she added.

The PML-N leader said several important people were also travelling with her in the flight, including Minister of State Mohammad Raza Hayat Hiraj, Wapda Chairman Tariq Hameed, Interior Secretary Tasneem Noorani and MMA MNA Raheela Qazi. When she protested to the minister about it, she added, he remained silent.

She said when a case could be registered against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for hijacking an aircraft, why one could not be registered against Gen Musharraf. It was strange to see that a general who claimed to be all powerful was afraid of a woman, she added.

A senior PML-N leader, Mushahidullah Khan, told Dawn that the airport police had refused to register an FIR against Gen Pervez Musharraf.

He said the SHO of the airport police station even refused to receive an application, saying that the incident had taken place inside the airport which was not in his station's jurisdiction.

Earlier, ARD Chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim told reporters at the Parliament House that an aircraft in which party's chief whip Syed Khursheed Shah and some other PPP MNAs were coming to Islamabad was not allowed landing at the Islamabad airport and sent back to Karachi.

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