On IC 814 Hijack, Omar Abdullah Cites 1989 Rubaiya Syed Abduction: 'My Father Was Forced To…’

Omar Abdullah highlighted the influence of the 1989 Rubaiya Syed abduction on the decisions made during the 1999 IC814 hijacking.

National Conference leader and former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, discussed the challenging decisions his father, Farooq Abdullah, faced during the 1999 IC814 hijacking. He pointed out that this was not the first time his father had been forced to release prisoners.

During an interview with ANI, Omar Abdullah shared that the IC814 hijacking wasn't the first time his father had to release prisoners. He referred to an earlier incident in 1989 when Rubaiya Syed, daughter of then Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, was abducted by Kashmiri separatists. The Central Government, under the leadership of VP Singh, freed five imprisoned terrorists from the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front in exchange for Rubaiya's release.

"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. 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 also said.

IC814 Hijacking

The IC814 hijacking has stirred debate and controversy, particularly regarding the use of terrorists' names in the Netflix series "IC814: The Kandahar Hijack," directed by Anubhav Sinha.

Omar Abdullah pointed out that the precedent set during the Rubaiya Syed kidnapping became a standard for the families of those involved in the 1999 IC814 hijacking, who sought similar consideration and safety measures for their loved ones.

Abdullah stated that he believes the Government of India had a choice during the Rubaiya Syed kidnapping. They could have rejected the negotiation with terrorists, but they chose to do so. Once that precedent was set, it became necessary to follow the same approach in future situations.

Omar Abdullah shed light on Afzal Guru's execution that the Jammu and Kashmir government had no role in the decision. He explained that had state approval been required, it would not have been granted. 

"The unfortunate thing was that the J-K government had nothing to do with Afzal Guru's execution. Otherwise, you would have had to do it with the permission of the state government, which I can tell you in no uncertain terms would not have been forthcoming. We wouldn't have done it. I don't believe that any purpose was served by executing him," Abdullah said, news agency ANI reported.