Islamabad: A Pakistani national, who tried to forcibly enter the cockpit of a plane when it was on way to Islamabad from Dubai, was detained by crew-members and handed over to police today (May 5, 2004).

Muhammad Majid, a resident of Hangu in North West Frontier Province (NWFP), was detained by the crew on board flight E-4553 of private airline Aero Asia, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told official APP news agency, a day after Premier Zafarullah Khan Jamali reportedly disclosed a hijacking plot.

The plane landed at Islamabad airport at around 0730 hrs (IST) and the man was immediately handed over to the Airport Security Force for investigation, he said.

Replying to a question, Sheikh Rashid said the man was unarmed when he tried to enter the cockpit of the plane. He also said that it cannot be construed as a hijacking attempt as the intruder carried no weapons.

However, the intruder's intentions would be established only after the completion of the investigations, the Minister said, adding the attempt to forcibly enter the cockpit of an air-borne plane is a violation of the Aviation rules.

Two days ago Pakistan declared a red alert in all its 32 airports stating that it obtained a tip-off about possible hijacking from terrorists. Opposition parties said such a move was aimed at scuttling plans by Shahbaz Sharif, brother of deposed Premier Nawaz Sharif, to return home from exile to lead an agitation against President Pervez Musharraf.

However, Jamali reportedly said that authorities have uncovered a plot by a small terror cell to hijack a plane en route to the UAE and possibly blow it up.