We solved Kandahar crisis 'satisfactorily': Advani

Jaswant Singh and officials of the external affairs ministry worked tirelessly to bring the Kandahar crisis to a 'satisfactory end', says Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani in his book My Country My Life.

Giving details about the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 in his book, the former deputy prime minister wrote: 'I was sitting in my office on a cold Friday afternoon on December 24,1999, when Shyamal Dutta, former director of Intelligence Bureau called me to convey the bad news. 'Sir, an Indian Airlines plane coming from Nepal has been hijacked'. I was stunned by what I heard.'

While talking about the seriousness with which the National Democratic Alliance government was determined to combat the crisis, Advani admits that hijackers had asked for release of 36 Pakistani prisoners in lodged in various jails along with $200 million.

Though Advani takes credit for releasing just three terrorists, but says nothing about the exchange of money.

In an interview with an editor of a leading English newspaper, Advani claimed that he was unaware of the discussions that took place in the Cabinet Committee on Security, but reiterated that the issue of Jaswant Singh going to Kandahar never came up in the meeting.

Denying that Jaswant had gone to ensure safe release of the three hardcore terrorists, he said: "Jaswant Singh had gone there just to bring back the released passengers."

He charged anti-BJP political parties for engineering demonstrations in front of prime minister's office by the relatives of the hijacked passengers.

'However, it was somewhat reassuring to see that the televised protests led the relatives of Kargil martyrs to urge the families of the hostages to be patient,' Advani writes in his book.