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| Pakistan hangs Baloch insurgents behind 1998 plane hijacking | Pakistan hangs Baloch insurgents behind 1998 plane hijacking |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Pakistan has hanged three Baloch insurgents, 17 years after they hijacked a passenger plane with 30 people on board. | Pakistan has hanged three Baloch insurgents, 17 years after they hijacked a passenger plane with 30 people on board. |
| The men were executed at jails in Karachi and Hyderabad. | The men were executed at jails in Karachi and Hyderabad. |
| They hijacked a Pakistani International Airways flight in May 1998 and ordered the pilot to fly to India but the plane was diverted and stormed by troops. | They hijacked a Pakistani International Airways flight in May 1998 and ordered the pilot to fly to India but the plane was diverted and stormed by troops. |
| Pakistan has put at least 130 people to death since lifting a moratorium on executions in December. | |
| The men - Shabbir Rind, Shahsawar Baloch and Sabir Rind - were members of the left-wing Baloch Students' Organisation (BSO), who were demanding more resources, such as gas and electricity, for their region. | |
| Death sentence | |
| They were sentenced to be executed in October 1998 but remained on death row until a moratorium on executions was lifted after the Peshawar school massacre. | They were sentenced to be executed in October 1998 but remained on death row until a moratorium on executions was lifted after the Peshawar school massacre. |
| Four other men were hanged on Thursday at jails across the country. They were convicted in murder cases and were not linked to the hijackers. | Four other men were hanged on Thursday at jails across the country. They were convicted in murder cases and were not linked to the hijackers. |
| PIA flight 554 took off from Turbat, in the south of Balochistan, and was heading for Karachi when the attackers boarded during a stop-over in Gwadar. | |
| They commandeered the Fokker shortly after take-off, and demanded the captain fly directly to Delhi. | They commandeered the Fokker shortly after take-off, and demanded the captain fly directly to Delhi. |
| He told them there was not enough fuel, but agreed to bring the plane as far as Bhuj, an airstrip in Gujrat, India. | He told them there was not enough fuel, but agreed to bring the plane as far as Bhuj, an airstrip in Gujrat, India. |
| Instead, he landed in Hyderabad where security forces were waiting. | Instead, he landed in Hyderabad where security forces were waiting. |
| Executions around the world | |
| BBC Urdu's Riaz Sohail in Karachi reports that in order to let the hijackers think they were in India, authorities banned the use of loudspeakers in mosques around the airport. | BBC Urdu's Riaz Sohail in Karachi reports that in order to let the hijackers think they were in India, authorities banned the use of loudspeakers in mosques around the airport. |
| Troops then stormed the plane and overpowered the hijackers. Passengers and crew were unharmed. | Troops then stormed the plane and overpowered the hijackers. Passengers and crew were unharmed. |
| The hijacking on 24 May came just four days before Pakistan carried out nuclear tests in Balochistan, which the BSO opposed. | The hijacking on 24 May came just four days before Pakistan carried out nuclear tests in Balochistan, which the BSO opposed. |
| The province is one of the most underdeveloped regions in the country and has become the site of a long-running conflict between separatists and security forces. |