The Qandhar Attack, 1999: “Fly west”, they instructed Captain Devi Sharan.

IC 814 was set to leave from Nepal and land in New Delhi. It was hijacked and flown to Qandhar, Afghanistan. Al-Qaeda and Laden were backing the act.

Timeline of the attack

Motive of the attack

Supported by ISI, the hijackers demanded release of Masood Azhar, Mushtaq Zargar and Ahmed Sheikh. Initially, the hijackers demanded release of 300 associates but later came to three. The demands were met in a week. These three, later, were involved in the 2001 Parliament attacks, 2008 Mumbai attacks, and 2019 Pulwama attacks.

Also read, https://test.inpactimes.com/kashmir-horrors-of-the-valley/

Repeated failure

The Prime Minister, Vajpayee, was informed three hours after the information of hijacking was received. It took 10 more hours to devolve the same across country. Home Minister, Advani, was against the release of prisoners but the External Minister, Singh, was adamant, because of presence of Tomar. Captain Devi Sharan was repeatedly seeking help of Air Traffic Control but met with either no response or a delayed one.

 Singh was called out for branding Taliban as “cooperative”.

Ajit Doval, Vivek Katju, Joint Secretary, Home Affairs and CD Sahay, Cabinet Secretariat, were sent to negotiate with Taliban.

Post the release, the Indian side demanded Nepal to handover its security to India, which the later denied.

Account from the book, IC 814 Hijacked

Written by Anil Jaggia and Saurav Shukla, the book deals with firsthand experience of IC-814 victims. From the stench of overflowing toilets to hurling abuses on Indians, the hijackers were losing their mind due to the delay in negotiations. Their religion didn’t allow them killing in a closed room so they opened the doors. They asked the women to cover their heads; followed with a lecture on Islam, and advised to remember god and make peace with death.

 The perpetrators believed that USA, India, and Russia are in a grand alliance against Islam and Laden is their protector.

Aftermath

The Government suspended all flights with Nepal. The then IB chief and current NSA, Ajit Doval, criticized the government on its diplomatic failures. It displayed the idealist and un-pragmatic approach of the high command.

Multiple such accounts can be found in recent Indian history. India, of the early 2000s, compromised and submitted, India of today prioritizes strategic gains and displays both hard and soft power.

Nevertheless, IC- 814, was display of grit of the cabin crew, mismanagement by the Indian side, and the Talibani mindset.