Pakistan immediately placed its airports on red alert, Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali said yesterday.
Authorities believed there was a group of about four to six people who wanted to hijack a plane. Intelligence indicated they wanted to blow it up, he said. There was no indication when the plot was due to be carried out or if it involved al-Qaeda.
Access to airport facilities has been severely restricted, extra security checks are being made on all domestic and international passengers and more security personnel have been assigned to the airports, said Major Mohammed Riaz, assistant director of intelligence for the Pakistan Airport Security Force.
