'If IC 814 hijack happened today, Masood Azhar would be in his grave': Ex-J&K DGP who oversaw terrorist's release

Former J&K DGP Shesh Paul Vaid on Wednesday waded into the controversy surrounding Netflix's 'IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack' web series, which the former top cop said tried to conceal the role of Pakistan's spy agency ISI. He also said that if the IC 814 Kandahar hijack had happened today during the Modi government's time, terrorist Masood Azhar would be in the graveyard rather than in Afghanistan. "Also, calling a spade a spade is not Islamophobia," he said in a tweet. 

Masood Azhar was one of the terrorists released by New Delhi in exchange for nearly 180 passengers in the Indian Airlines plane - IC 814. Vaid, who was DIG Jammu, supervised the release of Masood and escorted the terrorist from the jail to Jammu's technical airport, where a special plane was waiting to take him to Delhi.

"The real names of the Pakistan-sponsored hijackers are hidden (in the web series). If the upcoming generation doesn't know all these details, they might think that this hijacking was carried out by Indians, and that Pakistan, ISI, or the deep state had no role," he said in a video message.  

"I personally supervised it...I am a witness to that hijacking incident. As the DIG of Jammu, I supervised the release of Azhar Masood. I had to take him from jail to the Jammu technical airport, where a special plane was waiting to take him to Delhi. There was a vile smile on his face — 'I forced your country to release me'."

"My country was blackmailed at that time to save 194 passengers...that was the lowest ebb. But today, if anyone tries to do something like that, then that demon wouldn't be in Afghanistan, but in the grave. That plane would not have been allowed to take off from Amritsar under any circumstances. The present government would have really hit back," the former top cop said. 

The hijack happened on December 24, 1999, when Indian Airlines Flight 814, traveling from Kathmandu to Delhi, was seized by five armed terrorists shortly after the plane entered Indian air space. The hijackers diverted the plane, making stops in Amritsar, Lahore, and eventually Kandahar in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

The hijackers demanded the release of several terrorists jailed in India, including Masood Azhar. After a tense week-long standoff, the Indian government agreed to release three militants in exchange for the safe return of the hostages. The crisis ended on December 31 but one passenger, Rupin Katyal, was killed during the ordeal.