Negotiations are under way between Indian authorities and air pirates, but – after many hours of unsuccessful attempts – the negotiators have had to admit that, at least for now, there has been no progress. The fate of the 160 hostages is therefore hanging by a thread that, since 24 December, are founders of the Airbus Indian Airlines hijackers, stopped in the Afghan airport of Kandahar. Meanwhile, the situation of the victims of the kidnapping becomes increasingly precarious, both physically and psychologically: passengers and crew have been trapped for four days now, they can not even keep their eyes open (having done it has cost the lives of one of them), and the air inside the appliance has become almost unbearable due to excessive heating. Now, hopefully in the US call, to unblock the situation: the US government has asked India and Pakistan to overcome the divisions and work together for a concrete solution.

In this situation it is understandable the exasperation of the relatives of the prisoners; in New Delhi, in seventy, they attacked the crisis unit instigated by the government. As for the talks, a spokesman for the Taliban in power in Afghanistan said tonight that the negotiations, begun a few hours ago, will go on, but that “the situation has not yet been released”. The hijackers, let us remember, demand the release of a Pakistani religious dignitary detained in India for activities in support of the independence of Kashmir, a territory disputed between India and Pakistan itself. On the plane there is also a 30-year-old Milanese girl, Cristina Calabresi.
And also in the late evening the appeal by the US government, addressed to India and Pakistan, arrived: after having strongly condemned the hijacking, the US State Department invited the two countries divided by the conflict over Kashmir to put aside the dispute over the region, and to work together for the liberation of hostages.

We will see if the appeal will have any effect. For now, Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh has declared that his government is ready to negotiate, adding that it will not yield to blackmail. The delegation arrived today in Kandahar seems to be low-profile: it is not authorized to make independent decisions. India also asked for the help of an Islamic country, Iran: according to reports from the agency Irna, Minister Singh phoned Iranian colleague Kamal Kharrazi, urging him to collaborate as president of the Conference Organization Islamic (Oci). Tehran has promised that it will do “everything possible” to encourage a bloodless solution and condemned terrorist actions that “threaten the lives of innocent people”.

Meanwhile, the tension in the small port of call where the plane is stationary is getting higher and higher. Since yesterday morning the military orders the Taliban to encircle the apparatus with heavy equipment and artillery: they say they are ready to intervene in case of a new explosion of violence, or if other passengers will be killed.