As the search for missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 expands to sections of India, Pakistan and Central Asia, a spokesperson for the Taliban Islamic fundamentalist organization has denied having any information on the jetliner’s whereabouts, and any involvement in its disappearance.
Zahibullah Mujahid, a spokesperson for the Taliban in Afghanistan, said the missing aircraft had nothing to do with them.
It happened outside Afghanistan and you can see that even countries with very advanced equipment and facilities cannot figure out where it went,” he said. “So we also do not have any information as it is an external issue.”
The Taliban in Afghanistan are currently fighting to oust foreign military forces out of the country and re-establish an Islamic state.
A commander of the Pakistani Taliban, a separate entity currently in conflict with the Pakistani government in the northeastern province of Waziristan, said the organization he represents could only dream of such an operation.
”We wish we had an opportunity to hijack such a plane,” he told Reuters by telephone from the lawless North Waziristan region.
Aviation officials in India, Pakistan and across Central Asia have also said they have no relevant information as to the circumstances leading up to the disappearance, and the current whereabouts of Flight MH370, which disappeared more than a week ago on Saturday, March 8, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. It was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crewmembers.
Story: Reuters
