news details |
|
|
| Pakistani duo threatened to blow up jet, UK court told | | |
LONDON: The Chelmsford Magistrates Court was informed on Monday that taxi driver Tayyab Subhani (30) and restaurant worker Mohammed Safdar (41) not only tried to barge into the cockpit of a Pakistan Airlines plane but also shouted threats that "crew and passengers would be killed and the aircraft blown up before landing."
The Court called the threat "false, misleading or deceptive" and charged the duo—both from Nelson in Lancashire with endangering an aircraft. The passengers were flying to the UK from Pakistan. Prosecutor Chris McCann told the court the case was "serious" and involved the deployment of RAF jets to ensure the plane, which was carrying 308 passengers, landed safely. Both men spoke only to confirm their names and addresses. Subhani was married while his friend Safdar was a married father-of-three. The two had been flying back from Pakistan—Safdar after attending his mother's funeral and Subhani after visiting his grandfather who had broken his hip. Magistrate Sarah-Jane Davies refused the defendants bail and ordered them to appear at Chelmsford Crown Court on August 5 for a plea and case management hearing. Endangering an aircraft carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Flight number PK709, which departed from Lahore sent off a signal specially meant for an emergency on-flight, just 10 minutes before it was to land at Manchester. A Royal Air Force jet was scrambled, which then diverted the plane to Stansted.
Later, Essex police said the incident was being treated as a criminal offence and not terrorism-related. The home ministry recently revealed that terrorists tried to carry out attacks similar to 9/11 three times on British soil since 2009.
Terrorist groups continue to target civilian aircraft and have tried to do so on at least three recent occasions: in December 2009, October 2010 and April 2012. Britain has managed to successfully thwart them.
In the 12 months to 30 September 2012, there were 245 terrorism-related arrests in Great Britain: 45 people were charged with terrorism-related offences and 18 convicted; a further 25 people were awaiting trial as at 18 January 2013.
Britain's Home Office has also revealed that terrorist groups have acquired surface to air missiles as a result of the breakdown of law and order in parts of North Africa.
Home secretary Theresa May said on Wednesday "Aviation security is a high priority of our protective security programme. We have accelerated the deployment of new airport security scanners, which give us the best chance of detecting the threat from non-metallic improvised explosives. Following a risk-based assessment these are now operational in all terminals at major UK airports."
May said on Wednesday "Pakistan and the tribal areas along the Afghan border remain of the highest importance to our national security. Al Qaida continues to operate from this region and still has the capability to conduct terrorist attacks in the UK and other countries. People from this country continue to travel to this area to join Al Qaida and receive Al Qaida training." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
