Anubhav Sinha's web series 'IC-814: The Kandahar Hijack' premiered on Netflix last week. This web series has brought the 1999 incident, where five terrorists hijacked Indian Airlines flight IC-814, back into the spotlight. Debates have continued about the involvement of various organizations, particularly the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence). At the time of the hijacking, Gopalaswami Parthasarathy was India's High Commissioner to Pakistan. In an exclusive interview with Aaj Tak, he provided insights into ISI's participation and Islamabad's response.
Gopalaswami Parthasarathy asserted that there was complete Pakistani involvement in the IC-814 hijacking. He stated, 'The terrorists involved in the hijacking were Pakistani, and the released terrorists were Pakistani. There is no question of Al-Qaeda's involvement. The truth of the matter is that Al-Qaeda did not have a relationship with Pakistan to such an extent that they would execute a plane hijacking for them.' The web series has been criticized for allegedly giving a clean chit to ISI and linking the hijackers to Afghanistan and the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda.
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Pakistan Government Played All Sorts of Games
Parthasarathy claimed that while some people might have been working from Afghanistan, he further elaborated that the Taliban was then an extension of ISI, operating under its command. When asked about the Pakistani government's response to the Indian plane hijacking, he described it in one word: hypocrisy. He said, 'They would tell us that they would take all the necessary steps, but then not follow through. A few days after the hijacking, I wanted to send my officer to Kandahar, but the Pakistani government played all sorts of games.'
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Clear Role of Pakistan in IC-814 Hijacking
The Indian Airlines flight, which was heading from Kathmandu to Delhi, made stops at Amritsar, Lahore, and Dubai before landing in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Parthasarathy stated, 'When the hijacked plane arrived in Lahore, I was ready to go there. The plane that was supposed to take me from Islamabad to Lahore was deliberately delayed by the Pakistani officials. They provided me with a helicopter, and when I was halfway to Lahore, they informed me that IC-814 had already taken off.' The former Indian diplomat was convinced of Pakistan's clear role in the hijacking.
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ISI Assisted Hijackers at Every Level
He said, 'ISI was intricately involved in this incident. They provided every level of support to the terrorists during the plane hijacking.' When questioned if there were any lapses or mistakes on the part of the Indian government in dealing with this crisis, Gopalaswami Parthasarathy responded, 'It is difficult to say mistakes were made because the hijackers were armed and there were hundreds of Indian passengers inside the plane. Any military action at that time would have been irresponsible. We were not willing to risk the lives of our own people.'
