Opinion December 21, 1984, Forty Years Ago | Interpol: Pak guilty

The pistol that was given to the hijackers of the Indian Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft at Lahore airport on August 24 had been procured by the chief administrative officer of the Pakistan Defence Ministry from a West German armament firm, as per a telegram

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PRIME MINISTER RAJIV Gandhi urged the Akali Dal to publicly state that extremists and terrorists have no place in their party.

By: Editorial

December 21, 2024 06:00 AM IST First published on: Dec 21, 2024 at 06:00 AM IST

The pistol that was given to the hijackers of the Indian Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft at Lahore airport on August 24 had been procured by the chief administrative officer of the Pakistan Defence Ministry from a West German armament firm, as per a telegram New Delhi received from Interpol.

PM to Akali Dal

PRIME MINISTER RAJIV Gandhi urged the Akali Dal to publicly state that extremists and terrorists have no place in their party. Addressing public meetings in New Delhi on his whirlwind election tour, Gandhi said that the Akali Dal must prove that they stand for the unity and integrity of the country and declare that extremists and terrorists are not a part of them, but a separate group altogether.

Buses for voters

SIKH VOTERS IN 12 relief camps in New Delhi will be provided government transport for going to their residential areas to cast their votes on polling day. This will be part of the special arrangements being made by the Election Commission to ensure that minority communities and weaker sections can vote without fear. Both the People’s Union for Civil Liberties and the Nagrik Ekta Manch asked the Election Commission to give security to eligible voters belonging to minority groups.

Zia-ul-Haq wins

GENERAL ZIA-UL-HAQ WAS given a fresh mandate of five years as President of Pakistan. The Pakistan chief election commissioner Justice S A Nusrat, announced that out of about 35 million registered votes, 21 million cast their franchise in the referendum held on December 19. The affirmative vote was 97.71 per cent of the total votes cast. By and large the turn-out in all the provinces was exceptionally good.

# Forty Years Ago