Islamabad: Envoys of the Philippines and Norway and the wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors were among seven persons killed when a Pakistani military helicopter crashed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) last week.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed it had downed the chopper with an anti-aircraft missile and said Premier Nawaz Sharif was its target. Bur Sharif was on another aircraft. The Pakistan Army, however, ruled out the possibility of any terrorist or subversive activity in the crash in PoK’s Gilgit-Baltistan region and said the chopper had crashed due to a technical fault while landing.
Leif H. Larsen, the Norwegian envoy, and Domingo D. Lucenario Jr. of the Philippines were killed along with the wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors, besides two Army pilots and a crew member in the helicopter that caught fire as it crashed into a school. Six Pakistanis and 11 foreigners were on board.
Sharif’s aircraft diverted
Polish ambassador Andrzej Ananiczolish and Dutch ambassador Marcel de Vink were also injured when the Pakistan military helicopter crashed in Pak-occupied Kashmir. Sharif’s plane was already airborne for Naltar where he was scheduled to inaugurate two projects but it was diverted to Islamabad following the “tragic” news of the crash.
Military spokesman Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa said three Mi-17 military helicopters were carrying diplomats from 37 countries to Naltar.
Norway, Philippines saddened
Norway expressed “great sadness” over the death of its ambassador to Pakistan in a helicopter crash claimed by the Taliban. Larsen was “one of our best and most experienced diplomats” who was “very respected by his colleagues,” Foreign Minister Borge Brende told reporters, adding that his Pakistani counterpart had told him the causes of the crash “could not be fully explained yet.”
Larsen, married and the father of one, had been stationed in Islamabad since 2014.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said it was “deeply saddened” by the death of Ambassador Domingo Lucenario Jr., and that his colleagues in Manila observed a two-minute period of silence.
Although Maj Gen Asif Bajwa, the military press flack, insisted there was no Taliban hand in the crash, the authorities had clearly been spooked by the helicopter going down in the area that is not known to have rebel hideouts. The Taliban said it was trying to shoot down an aircraft that was supposed to bring in Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to the Gilgit-Baltistan province, the same area where the diplomats were headed to. Sharif's plane was diverted back to Islamabad after the crash. News agencies cited witnesses on the ground and in other helicopters flying in tandem and carrying diplomats, reporting nothing to indicate any firing.
Last month, Taliban had claimed it had successfully test-fired a short-range missile, the kind of projectile that could be used against low-flying aircraft. The military had pooh-poohed the reports, denying the terrorists had such technical prowess.
Officials said heads of diplomatic missions from over 30 countries, along with their families and some Pakistani dignitaries, had been flown to Gilgit by a C-130 aircraft.“From there, they were being taken to Naltar in four helicopters for a three-day excursion,'' said a foreign ministry statement.
