(a) whether the Government had made any request to Pakistan to extradite IA hijackers holed up in Pakistan;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether this issue had also been discussed with President of Pakistan during his recent visit to India;
(d) if so, the results thereof;
(e) whether the Interpol has also been requested to extend help in this regard; and
(f) if so, the details thereof?
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI OMAR ABDULLAH)
(a)-(f) Government have taken up the matter of the hijacking of Indian Airline flight IC 814 with the Government of Pakistan on several occasions, and have provided them with evidence of the involvement of their nationals in the hijacking. Government have also informed Pakistan that there are grounds to believe that the hijackers are currently in Pakistan. Pakistan has been reminded that as a signatory to several international conventions, as also the Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration, it has an obligation to take the hijackers into custody and to extradite them to India for due judicial process. During the recently concluded Agra Summit level talks held on 15 & 16 July 2001, Prime Minister also raised this issue with the President of Pakistan. Prime Minister conveyed that we were aware that the hijackers of IC 814, in addition to other criminals and terrorists responsible for heinous crimes in India, were living in Pakistan, and that these individuals must be arrested and handed over to India.
On 7th June 2000, Central Bureau of Investigation`s Interpol Wing forwarded a request to Interpol Secretariat General (IPSG), Notice Section, Lyons, France for issuance of `Red Corner Notices` against the seven wanted hijackers involved in the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC 814 from Kathmandu to Kandhar. Red Corner Notices have since been issued by the Interpol requesting that the hijackers and their associates be arrested.