Opinion October 9, 1985, Forty Years Ago: Palestinian Hijack

This is the front page of The Indian Express published on October 09, 1985.

October 9, 2025 08:00 AM IST First published on: Oct 9, 2025 at 08:00 AM IST

Palestinian guerrillas demanding the release of compatriots held in Israel hijacked an Italian cruise liner in the Mediterranean, taking about 450 people hostage. The hijackers later claimed they killed two Americans aboard the ship, a Western diplomat said in Damascus. The ship, which had earlier arrived off the Syrian coast, began sailing west a little later towards Cyprus, he said.

Seventh Plan

The draft Seventh Plan (1985-90), which envisages a public sector outlay of Rs 1,80,000 crore, was approved by the Union cabinet here in New Delhi. A new chapter has been added to the plan at the instance of the Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, dealing with a long-term perspective plan spanning 15-20 years, which will take India into the 20th century.

PM on Pacts

The Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, asserted that “purely military” proposals such as the “no-war pact” were not adequate to defuse tension in the Subcontinent. What India was seeking with Pakistan “is not mere detente but entente”, Gandhi said, addressing the National Defence College. What we really need is people-to-people contact, the friendliest of governmental relations and truly cordial and friendly relations on the basis of daily interaction, Gandhi added.

Barnala Talks to PM

The Punjab Chief Minister, Surjit Singh Barnala, has told the Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, that both the Centre and the state had to tackle jointly the problem of frustration among the Punjab youths who had been shabbily treated in the past. Barnala met Gandhi for about half an hour to discuss the state. This was his first meeting with Gandhi after assuming office.