December 24, 1999: The plane was hijacked
The date was December 24, and the year was 1999. The Indian Airlines flight IC 814 took off from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, bound for New Delhi. However, as soon as the flight took to the air, five terrorists on board hijacked it. There were 176 passengers on board, including some foreigners.
The hijackers took the flight to Lahore
The flight was supposed to land at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport in the evening, but soon after, news of the hijacking spread. The hijackers took the flight to Amritsar instead of Delhi, as the fuel was running low. The plane was kept at Amritsar for some time, but the purpose for which it was hijacked could not be fulfilled. Following the hijackers’ instructions, the pilot took the plane to Lahore.
Pakistan did not permit to land the plane
The flight IC 814 sought permission to land at Lahore, but the Pakistani air traffic control refused. Later, permission was granted, and after refueling, the plane was taken to Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates. There, the hijackers released 27 passengers. From there, the plane flew directly to Kandahar in Afghanistan.
The hijackers were Pakistani terrorists
The five terrorists who hijacked the plane were all Pakistani nationals. Their goal was to secure the release of Masood Azhar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, who were lodged in Indian jails. According to a January 2000 report by the Ministry of External Affairs, the hijackers had concealed their identities and used fictitious names like ‘Chief,’ ‘Doctor,’ ‘Burger,’ ‘Bhola,’ and ‘Shankar’ to address each other. The five terrorists belonged to the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen organization, and their names were Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Saeed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim, and Shakir.
India had to release three dreaded terrorists
Talks between the Indian government and the hijackers began on December 25 and 26. On December 27, a team led by Joint Secretary Vivek Katju was sent to Kandahar. The team included Home Ministry officials Ajit Doval and CD Sahay. After almost eight days, on December 31, 1999, all the passengers were released. In exchange, the hijackers were given Masood Azhar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar. After eight days of terror, all the passengers were safely brought back to India.
India had an NDA government at the time
When the plane was hijacked, the NDA government was in power in India, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister. The government faced criticism for releasing the terrorists. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigated the case and charged 10 people, including the five hijackers. Seven accused are still absconding, and their whereabouts are still unknown.