IAF plane lands in Pak after five yrs

An IAF plane which flew National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha and several senior officials to Islamabad on Thursday was the first such aircraft to land in Pakistan in nearly five years.

The last time an IAF plane landed in Pakistan was February 1999 when Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee returned after his historic bus ride to Lahore , defence sources said.

The aircraft that flew Vajpayee back belonged to the Communications Squadron of the IAF, they said.

sThe Boeing-737 IAF plane, which carried Mishra, Sinha, Arun Singh, joint secretary in the External Affairs Ministry and other senior officials, also became the first Indian flight to land in Pakistan since December 31, 2001 when air links were snapped after terrorist attack on Parliament.

New Delhi, January 01, 2003 (PTI)