NEW DELHI: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah revealed that 1999 IC814 hijacking incident was not the first time his father Farooq Abdullah was compelled to release individuals, drawing parallels to the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiya Syed, daughter of then-home minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
“This is the second time my father was forced to release people. With Rubaiya Syed and families of the hijacked victims, they used the Rubaiya Syed incident as the benchmark,” Abdullah said in an interview with ANI.
“They said when you could release terrorists for a home minister’s daughter, is our family not precious? Why is it only she is precious to the country? Then if she is precious to you, then our family is precious to us.So we set a benchmark that had to be followed,” Abdullah added.
The Central government, led by VP Singh, had agreed to release five imprisoned terrorists of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front in exchange for Rubaiya Syed’s release. This precedent, Abdullah said, played a significant role in shaping the demands made during the IC814 hijacking.
The IC814 hijacking has garnered renewed attention, partially due to its depiction of hijackers in the Netflix series “IC814: The Kandahar Hijack,” directed by Anubhav Sinha. The series delves into the controversial decision to release terrorists in exchange for the safety of the hostages.
Abdullah highlighted the difficult position the government found itself in, saying, “I think the Government of India had an option. At the time of Rubaiya Syed’s kidnapping, they could have chosen not to negotiate with terrorists. But once you do it once, you have to do it again.”
Speaking on the execution of Afzal Guru, Abdullah said that the “J&K government had no role” in the process, adding that the execution “did not serve any purpose”.
The National Conference and the Congress are contesting the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls together. The voting in the Union Territory is scheduled to be held in three phases on September 18, 25, and October 1, with the counting set for October 8.
“This is the second time my father was forced to release people. With Rubaiya Syed and families of the hijacked victims, they used the Rubaiya Syed incident as the benchmark,” Abdullah said in an interview with ANI.
“They said when you could release terrorists for a home minister’s daughter, is our family not precious? Why is it only she is precious to the country? Then if she is precious to you, then our family is precious to us.So we set a benchmark that had to be followed,” Abdullah added.
The Central government, led by VP Singh, had agreed to release five imprisoned terrorists of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front in exchange for Rubaiya Syed’s release. This precedent, Abdullah said, played a significant role in shaping the demands made during the IC814 hijacking.
The IC814 hijacking has garnered renewed attention, partially due to its depiction of hijackers in the Netflix series “IC814: The Kandahar Hijack,” directed by Anubhav Sinha. The series delves into the controversial decision to release terrorists in exchange for the safety of the hostages.
Abdullah highlighted the difficult position the government found itself in, saying, “I think the Government of India had an option. At the time of Rubaiya Syed’s kidnapping, they could have chosen not to negotiate with terrorists. But once you do it once, you have to do it again.”
Speaking on the execution of Afzal Guru, Abdullah said that the “J&K government had no role” in the process, adding that the execution “did not serve any purpose”.
The National Conference and the Congress are contesting the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls together. The voting in the Union Territory is scheduled to be held in three phases on September 18, 25, and October 1, with the counting set for October 8.