How kidnapping of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's daughter Rubaiya Sayeed may have emboldened IC 814 hijackers
The aftermath of the hijacking of Indian Airlines IC 814 was one of the most forgettable chapters in the history of India. India was forced to release three terrorists, Masood Azhar, Omar Sheikh, and Mushtaq Zargar from jail to end the hostage crisis.?The three terrorists were freed despite the initial opposition from the then Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah.?
Why?Farooq Abdullah opposed release of terrorists
One of the reasons why Abdullah opposed the release of the three terrorists was that he had previously experienced how such acts would only embolden militants.??
That is because, as Chief Minister, Abdullah was forced to free five Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) members in exchange for Rubaiya Saeed, the daughter of the then Union Home Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.??
Kidnapping of?Rubaiya Saeed
Rubaiya Saeed was kidnapped on 8 December 1989 by JKLF men, including its chief, Yasin Malik.??
Despite Abdullah's assurance that the terrorists would not harm Rubaiya Saeed, the Union Government led by VP Singh refused to take a chance.??
Two Union Ministers, IK Gujral and Arif Mohammad Khan, led the negotiations that resulted in the freeing of Rubaiya Saeed on 13 December in exchange for five JKLF terrorists.??
Did India set a bad example?
Since then, many have described the incident as turning point and blamed it for future events including the hijacking of the IC 814.
Abdullah has long resented the release and claimed that his government was threatened with dismissal by the central government.??
Grave mistake: Abdullah
In 2015, Abdullah described the release of terrorists as a grave mistake.??
"I wouldn't have released a single terrorist even if the militants had taken my daughter hostage. I asked the central ministers to give it in writing on behalf of the cabinet. I told them that this is the last nail in the coffin, and we will never be able to recover from this," he had said.
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