Anubhav Sinha’s web series ‘IC-814: The Kandahar Hijack’ was released on Netflix last week. This web series has again brought the incident of hijacking of Indian Airlines plane IC-814 by five terrorists in the year 1999 into the spotlight. There has been a debate about the involvement of the organizations involved in this hijacking, especially the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence). Gopalaswami Parthasarathy was the High Commissioner of India to Pakistan at the time of this incident. In a special conversation with Aaj Tak, he gave information about the involvement of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Islamabad’s response.
Gopalaswami Parthasarathy said that there was complete Pakistani involvement in the hijacking of IC-814. He said, ‘The terrorists involved in this hijacking were Pakistanis, the terrorists released were Pakistanis. There is no question of Al-Qaeda’s involvement. The truth of the matter is that Al-Qaeda did not have a good relationship with Pakistan to the extent that they would carry out plane hijacking for them.’ This Netflix web series is being criticized for allegedly giving a clean chit to the ISI and linking the hijackers to Afghanistan and the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda.
Also read: Common religious things between the terrorists involved in IC-814 and Mumbai attack, which our cinema does not show
Pakistan government played all kinds of sports
Parthasarathy claimed that some people might be working from Afghanistan, adding that the Taliban was an extension of the ISI then. It was working at its behest. When asked about the Pakistan government’s response to the hijacking of the Indian plane, G Parthasarathy described it in one word – double standards. He said, ‘They would say to us that they will take all appropriate steps, and then they did not follow through. A few days after the hijacking, I wanted to send my officer to Kandahar, but the Pakistan government played all kinds of games.’
Also read: Was antakshari played in the hijacked IC-814 plane? Survivor woman revealed many secrets
Clear role of PAK in IC-814 hijacking
The Indian Airlines flight, which was flying from Kathmandu to Delhi, made stops at Amritsar, Lahore and Dubai before landing in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Parthasarathy said, “When the hijacked plane arrived in Lahore, I was ready to go there. They (Pakistani authorities) deliberately delayed the flight I was supposed to take from Islamabad to Lahore. I was given a helicopter and when I was halfway to Lahore, they told me that IC-814 had taken off from there.” The former Indian diplomat was convinced of Pakistan’s clear role in the hijacking.
Also read: The scary moments of hijacking IC814 and the code names of the hijackers… Survivor Pooja Kataria revealed many secrets
ISI helped the hijackers at every level
He said, ‘ISI was very closely involved in this incident. They had supported the terrorists at every level during the plane hijacking. When asked if there were any lapses and mistakes by the Indian government in handling this crisis? Gopalaswami Parthasarathy said, ‘It is difficult to say that there was a mistake, because the hijackers were armed and there were hundreds of Indian passengers inside the plane. At that time, it would have been irresponsible to try something militarily. We were not ready to risk our own people.’
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)