Title: Hostages freed
at a price
Author: Seshadri Chari
Publication: The Organiser
Date: January 9, 2000
As the sun set on the
last day of the century, all the hostages of the ill-fated Indian Airlines
plane IC-814 returned home ending the eight-day-old hijack ordeal, the
longest in the Indian civil aviation history.
With the hijack episode
behind the back of us it is time to look back in proper perspective as
things slowly fall into their places. Negotiations of the kind that were
witnessed were a comparatively new experience for New Delhi and the nation
as a whole. The 12th hijack held the people together in their hour of crisis,
praying for the lives of innocent people which was exchanged for the lives
of three hardened criminals who waged a war against us.
As details of the hijack
drama unfolds, it is becoming clear that the hijackers gained their first
advantage at the Tribhuvan International Airport at Kathmandu, Nepal. It
is no secret that Kathmandb has become the most convenient point of convergence
for some of the dreaded Islamic terrorist outfits including the ISI of
Pakistan.
Various reports appearing
in local newspapers and warnings by international anti-terrorism observers
have failed to spur suitable action by the Nepali authorities. The long-drawn
political upheaval in the country, the anti-democratic anti-India Left
rule over the Himalayan Kingdom, the perennial internecine warfare within
the present ruling party and a general lack of political will on the part
of the ruler, can be some of the reasons for Nepal slipping into the hands
of terrorists. The question of the involvement of some Pakistani Embassy
staff in aiding amid abetting ISI activities and smuggling of arms and
other prohibited items has been raised with the Nepalese authorities.
In November 1998, one
Lakhbir Singh, a Khalistani activist and main accused in the RDX haul case
told the investigating agencies that Arshad Cheema, the then First Secretary
in the Pakistan Embassy, Ejaz Hussain Minhas, Counsellor and Aslam Saboor,
a clerk had been such moving around the Valley View Hotel in Teku, a place
known to be a hideout of dreaded Afghan terrorists. The RDX was said to
have been handed over to one of them. When the local police, investigating
the RDX haul found that their suspects were heading towards the Pakistan
Embassy they developed cold feet and informed the Government.
Later it was found that
this RDX was meant to be used in Delhi during the Republic Day celebrations
where the King of Nepal was the Chief Guest. The multi-party experiment
with democracy has thrown up quite a few challenges not only for the strategically
perched state but for India too, who shares a large unguarded border with
Nepal.
The convention of Nepal's
capital city that no building shall stand taller than the Royal Palace
was given a go-by when a four-storeyed mosque-cum-residential block came
up on the busy Darbar Marg of Kathmandu right in front of the Royal Palace.
This was only a signal indication of the extent of the spread of Islam
in the only officially proclaimed Hindu Kingdom of the world.
Since the setting up
of its diplomatic mission in Kathmandu, Pakistan has been the main source
of support to the Muslims in Nepal. The ISI has chosen Nepal and established
centres along the Indo-Nepal border to train and assist Islamic terrorists.
According to a highly
placed source in RAW, a former Counsellor at the Pakistan Embassy in Kathmandu
sometime in 1991, one Parvez Afzal, was a key ISI operator and was in close
contact with one Akram, known to be a Kashmiri terrorist. His orders were
to target senior Hindu leaders and create mayhem and communal tension in
India.
The Delhi Police who
were investigating the Lajpat Nagar bomb blast in May 1996 stumbled upon
stunning information leading to ISI links in Kathmandu. One Col. Farooq
now reportedly posted in the Pakistan GHQ was in close touch with a JKLF
activist Basharat Noorie. The duo held a number of meetings and established
contact points at Kathmandu and Pokhra, another beautiful tourist spot
highly vulnerable to terrorist activity.
At one stage of Pakistan
Embassy in Kathmandu was seriously considering a request to bring in some
one thousand pagers to equip the ISI operators in India and Nepal. Now
with Nepal entering the cellular technology phase, these ISI agents may
as well be more well equipped than before.
The ISI, in close co-ordination
with Jamat-e-Islami of Pakistan is active in constructing new madrassas
and mosques, not only along the Indo-Nepal border but even in far off places
such as Pokhra and the Tarai region like Chitwan.
The thickly wooded Chitwan
National Park, a house to large number of animals, especially tigers, is
fast turning into a notorious hideout for terrorists. Recently, a North
Korean national based in Kathmandu was found to have visited these areas
obviously with a view to developing routes for arms smuggling.
Politics and business
are two important areas where the ISI plans to increase its stranglehold
in Nepal in the near future. Under the cover of propagating Islam and uplift
of Muslim economically, some Pakistan-aided financial institutions are
already funding Muslim youth to start business and establish tourism-related
trade. The Pakistan Embassy is also keen in keeping close links with Muslim
political personalities in Nepal to shore up Pakistan's influence in Government
and politics in order to gain operational advantage for the ISI. Pakistan's
links with the slain MP, Dilshad Beg, and other Muslim leaders in political
parties are known to authorities in Nepal.
With a relatively access
from a country like Nepal, the menace of terrorism is likely to increase
in the days to come proving to be a perennial problem for the security
and administrative personnel here.
With the 12th hijack
on Indian Airlines being resolved, albeit with a compromise, many lessons
are lined up for us to pick up.
The Indian Airlines (IA)
has as many as 36 directorates supervising the fleet of over 52 aircraft,
operating in eleven countries and some 150 destinations in the country.
This huge operation may no doubt need a large organisational setup but
also requires a close-knit working with inbuilt intradepartmental checking,
cross-checking, monitoring and accountability.
Handled by a large bureaucracy
and controlled by archaic laws and practices, the IA urgently needs a thorough
shake-up and revamping. The recent hijack, come as an alarm signal.
As many as 26 new directorates
were created in the recent past, all endowed with huge funds, but none
relating directly to operations or security or training staff to meet emergencies.
It is found that airlines all over the' world have light managements at
the top and have down-sized their departments to invest more on security
and passenger amenities and safety.
On the diplomacy side,
Indian officials need to be more alert in dealing with events and getting
a total and early version of happenings around us. The US State Department
had reportedly sent a team of experts to Afghanistan as far back as June
1999 to study the political situation there and suggest ways and means
to maintain possible diplomatic links with the Taliban.
During the negotiations
with the hijackers, it was realised that the UN officials were the only
line link we had with the local Taliban authorities. In fact it is a little
known fact that the Indian news media, especially the external services
of the All India Radio (AIR), is immensely popular not only in the far-flung
places like Kabul and Kandahar, but also in the mountainous terrains of
the Himalayan regions in other countries like Bhutan and Nepal. Pushtu
experts in India are in great demand in many western capitals, but it is
not known if our own security and foreign affairs planners have a ready
list of such persons.
As the negotiations were
going on. the authorities realised that they had the advantage of a largo
section of experts and trained personnel from different walks of life to
and aid the Government in its efforts to secure the safe release of the
hostages.
The fact that four of
the hijackers were identified as Pakistani and that they have reportedly
gone to Quetta in Pakistan after securing the release of Maulana Azhar
Masood-a Pakistani, and general secretary of Harkat-ul-Ansar operating
from Pakistan-amply demonstrates that country's role as a state sponsoring
Islamic terrorism.
Islamic terrorism continues
to pose serious threat to our peace and prosperity, our economy and democracy,
our very little and way of life. The new century may take some time to
tide itself of this menace. But surely, we cannot remain ill-prepared for
such eventualities. The price we have paid this time may be high. But no
price is too dear to learn a lesson or two.
To view the recent crisis
in parts or from a political perspective, as has been done by some opposition
groups, would be not only unfair but highly detrimental to our diplomatic
and security interests.
A terrorist is a terrorist
first and last. And he is more dangerous if he is armed to the hilt with
a fanatical religious ideology that seeks to spread on the strength of
sword, and now-at gun point and with the power of the RDX. In the present
situation. we are the most vulnerable country by virtue of our geographical
location and social context.
The meant events must
be a warning signal to every country that stands committed to preserve
culture and civilization the world over. A terrorist outfit is a larger
and ugly manifestation of the forces that are a threat not only to the
security and integrity of a nation. They are a threat to humanity at large.
