Negotiator came late, delayed commandos

Their heavy equipment, weapons and other paraphernalia were already on board. 8220;However, as per the procedure, the commando team is accompanied by negotiators who engage the hijackers in conversation, buying time for the commandoes to get into their act,8221; a home ministry official said.

The negotiators are provided by the government and come from various departments, including the Ministry of External Affairs MEA, Intelligence Bureau IB and Research and Analysis Wing RAW. 8220;The negotiators work in tandem with the SAG commandos but are not a part of theNSG. On December 24, the day of the hijacking, the commandos kept sitting in the aircraft just waiting for the negotiators. The aircraft engine was running, waiting to take off,8221; sources emphasised.

8220;But the first negotiator only arrived around 7.25 pm. And only one came. Generally, the negotiators also operate as a team. But then there was no question of waiting any longer. As soon as the negotiator boarded the aircraft, it took off for the scheduled destination,8221; the official said, explaining the 8220;delayed response8221;. They were still midair, en route, when the hijacked IC-814 took off from Raja Sansi airport. In the blame game which already seemed to have started, an official of the IB said that they have no regular trained negotiators. 8220;A hijacking happens once in a while. What will the negotiator do at other times? It cannot be treated as a regular job,8221; said the IB personnel.

The negotiators are men with knowledge of languages like Arabic, Urdu, Pushto and Tamil, and also some expertise on humanpsychology. 8220;After all, they have to talk to the hijackers, win their confidence and ultimately wear them down,8221; he said, adding that it was the MEA which was supposed to provide the men to act as negotiators because they have a panel of language experts, working there as interpreters.

MEA spokesman Raminder Jassal said that there was no hard and fixed rule on who would provide the negotiators. 8220;The government can draw upon whatever resources when there is a need. It is time of crisis management and various departments are working as a composite team,8221; he said. He refused to say if there was any delay in providing the negotiators.