Pakistan pilot says plane was in danger

Pakistan pilot says plane was in danger

KARACHI (Reuters): A Pakistani pilot said on Thursday he feared his plane, carrying then army chief Gen. Pervez Musharraf, would run out of fuel after it was denied permission to land at the southern port of Karachi.

Pakistan International Airlines pilot Syed Sarwat Hussain was giving evidence in the trial of former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who is accused of ordering the plane's hijacking.

"I advised the Karachi air traffic control that I have 198 souls, limited amount of fuel and that if we are not allowed to land ... we will lose the aircraft," Hussain said.

Later under cross-examination, Hussain said it was "a nature of emergency" when he informed the control tower about the fuel situation and the number of passengers on board.

He was testifying for the prosecution about events on Oct. 12, when he was flying Musharraf and other passengers to Karachi from Sri Lanka.

He said the plane was first denied and then given permission to land. Military officials subsequently assured him it was safe to land.

Sharif had sacked Musharraf shortly before the alleged hijacking and hours later troops surrounded the prime minister's Islamabad residence and took control of airports, major roads, key government buildings and other ministers' homes.

Several hours after the plane landed, Musharraf announced that he had launched a coup and that he was Pakistan's ruler.

The prosecution has accused Sharif, his brother Shahbaz and five others of ordering that the plane be denied landing approval and has charged them with terrorism, attempted murder and hijacking -- which carries the maximum sentence of death.

Hussain, the first prosecution witness who was on the plane, said the jet had 80 minutes of fuel when it was denied landing rights. He did not say how much fuel was left when he finally landed at Karachi more than an hour later.

"Karachi air traffic control informed us that you are not permitted to land at any airfield in Pakistan and to proceed outside at your own risk," he said.

Hussain said air traffic control then asked him to divert the plane to Nawabshah but midway instructions were again given to return to Karachi.

"...The instructions from the Karachi air traffic control, being conflicting in nature, had created a stage of confusion and had by that time eroded the trust the pilot had in the air traffic control," he said.

Hussain said Musharraf requested to come to the cockpit to identify and speak by radio with an army general who had taken control of the air traffic control (ATC) tower.

"He did appear in the cockpit in the later phases of the flight. Gen. Musharraf wanted to know who was in control of the ATC tower," he said.

Asked by defense lawyer Khawaja Sultan whether Musharraf instructed him on where the plane should go, Hussain said: "this is not correct".

Hussain said he landed after senior military officials from the control tower assured him that everything was fine. The trial continues on Friday.