India reveals new Anti Hijack Policy
Dated 14/8/2005
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New Delhi, Aug 14 (IANS) A commercial airliner hijacked in Indian airspace can be shot down if it turns out to be a "missile", a newspaper reported Sunday quoting a "bold and tough" anti-hijack policy the government has adopted, apparently just days after intelligence reports suggested Jaish-e-Mohammed's plots to hijack a civilian airplane.
The policy, which apparently came into force after the cabinet committee on security (CCS) approved it this week, rules out any negotiations on demands made by hijackers, The Indian Express said.
Hijackers will be engaged in negotiations only to bring the incident to an end, to comfort passengers and to prevent loss of lives.
The new guidelines, the newspaper said, are dictated by a policy doctrine stating that any attempt to hijack would be considered an act of aggression against the country and will prompt a response fit for an aggressor.
Hijackers, if captured, will be sentenced to death.
The new policy comes six years after the hijack of an Indian Airlines jet to Kandahar in Afghanistan.
The passengers were released only after the Indian government capitulated to the hijackers' demand and released jailed Islamist terrorist Maulana Masood Azhar. One passenger was killed in the hostage saga.
Had the anti-hijack policy been in force at the time, the Express pointed out, fighter jets would have flown alongside the aircraft from the moment it had been hijacked.
Also, the aircraft would have not been able to take off from Amritsar where it landed to refuel after being hijacked from Kathmandu.
This is because the authorities would have been clear that they had to stop the plane from taking off.
Mock exercises can be expected in the next few weeks to test the policy's effectiveness, the daily said.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security was also preparing an Aviation Security Manual that will list out procedures and identify strategic targets.
According to the procedures laid down for shooting down a hijacked aircraft, it has first to be ascertained if it will hit a strategic target. A three-stage classification process has been laid down for this:
a) Doubtful aircraft - A plane deviating from its allotted course, not complying with air traffic control (ATC) instructions or whose transponder is not functioning will fall in this category.
b) Rogue aircraft - A doubtful aircraft that fails to respond to respond to ATC commands or switches off its transponder will be classified thus.
c) Threat aircraft - A rogue aircraft that ignores ATC commands, or those of air defence fighters and whose flight plan is aligned to a target like Rashtrapati Bhawan, Parliament House or other strategic government buildings will be classified thus.
Only planes that fall in the third category can be shot down. The decision to do so will be taken by the CCS.
However, due to the shortage of time, whoever - the prime minister, the defence minister or the home minister - can be reached first will take the call.
In situations in which an aircraft becomes a threat while landing or taking off - which gives very little reaction time - a decision on shooting it down will be taken by an Indian Air Force officer not below the rank of Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Operations).
Under the new policy, IAF fighters will be scrambled the moment an aircraft is hijacked, will accompany the plane and will make attempts to get it to land at an Indian airport.
The police also caters for armed intervention to end a hijack. While a decision to storm the aircraft after it has landed will be taken by the CCS, a team of the elite National Security Guards will have to be airborne within two hours of the incident accompanied by a central negotiating team.
