IC 814 hijacking: Who is Pakistani terrorist Maulana Masood Azhar?
The role of the dreaded Pakistani terrorist and one of India's most wanted men, Maulana Masood Azhar, in carrying out terror attacks in the country has been well documented. But Azhar, who has been listed as an international terrorist by the United Nations Security Council, would not be what he is today, and he would still be in an Indian jail if Indian Airlines IC 814 had not been hijacked by terrorists.??
The release of Masood Azhar, along with two others, who were imprisoned in India at that time, was the main demand of the gunmen who hijacked IC 814 on 24 December 1999.??
Who is?Maulana Masood Azhar
Azhar, who was born in Bahawalpur, Pakistan's Punjab, was drawn into terrorism at a young age, and he began fighting as a Mujahideen in the Soviet-Afghan War.??
In 1993, when Harkat-ul-Ansar was formed as a result of the merger between Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, Azhar became its general secretary.??
Masood Azhar was arrested in 1994
However, in 1994, Azhar was arrested in Srinagar, and he was jailed at the Badami Bagh Cantonment in Srinagar, Tihar Jail in Delhi, and lastly the Kot Balwal Jail in Jammu on charges of terrorism.??
First attempt to free Masood Azhar
While many may recall the hijacking of IC 814 in 1999 as the incident that led to his release, it was not the first time Harkat-ul-Ansar tried to free him.??
Hijacking of IC 814
It was in July 1995, when a group of foreign tourists were kidnapped in Jammu and Kashmir by terrorists who demanded Azhar's release in exchange for the hostages. But their plans did not work out as one of the captives managed to flee. While another captive was killed in August, the whereabouts of the other four were never heard of again.??
Harkat-ul-Ansar once again tried to get Azhar released, this time with the hijacking of IC 814. Six days after the flight was hijacked, the Indian government relented, and Azhar was released in exchange for the hostages.??
Formation of?Jaish-e-Mohammed
Upon his return to Pakistan, Azhar founded Jaish-e-Mohammed, which has been responsible for some of the worst terror attacks on Indian soil, including the 2001 Indian Parliament attack, the 2016 Pathankot air base attack, and the 2019 Pulwama terror attack on a CRPF convoy.??
Though India and the US have repeatedly tried to bring Azhar to book, attempts to sanction him at the UNSC were thwarted by China until 2019.
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