Indian Airlines Hijacking - Visual Analysis

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IC STUDIES search "official" orders aircraft is refuelled eone who claims he is from the home ry orders the air traffic control to refuel the plane over telephone. 24/12/1999 7:01:00 PM om India and unite it with Pakistan. Its objectives also include UM, the HUJI and the Lashkar –e-Toiba (LET), JEM projects Jammu the ambition to liberate Muslims in other parts of India after e of its jihad. For this purpose it aims to work for unification jihad also includes taking control of the Babri Masjid in er religious sites in Amritsar in Punjab and New Delhi. g the battle to the people of India. Its strategy also envisions n focusing only on Kashmir. Male passengers stabbed, aircraft departs Cabinet Secreatary calls to advise the plane should not be refuelled. The hijackers start stabbing selected male passengers. Rupin Katyal, a 25-year-old honeymooner, dies. Plane takes off with fuel for just 30 minutes. Heading is for Lahore (Pakistan). 24/12/1999 7:06:00 PM Aircraft departs Aircraft leaves for Kabul. Destination changed to Kandahar en route. 25/12/1999 8:01:00 AM History and Development Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) is a relatively new organisation but has turned out to be amongst the deadliest terrorist outfits operating in South Asia. JEM was officially launched on 31 January 2000 by Maulana Masood Azhar in Karachi in Pakistan after he was released by Indian authorities as part of the terrorists for hostage swap of 31 December 1999 following the hijacking of the Indian Airlines Flight 814. Prior to the formation of JEM, Maulana Masood Azhar was the general secretary of the Harkat-ul-Ansar (HUA) which was formed in 1994 by the merger of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HUM) and Harkar-ul-Jihad Islami (HUJI). Azhar was on a mission in Jammu and Kashmir under pseudonym Essa Bin Adam on a Portuguese passport when he was arrested by the Indian security forces. It was HUA, which planned and executed the hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight. The hijackers involved were Ibrahim Athar, (brother of Masood Azhar) , Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim, Shakir, all from Pakistan. When Azhar was released, the HUA had already been included in the US list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), which compelled its constituent groups to resume their pre-merger identities as HUM and HUJI. However, Masood Azhar decided to float a new outfit, primarily due to differences with Fazlur Rahman Khalil, the chief of HUM, over management of funds. Khalil was also getting increasingly uncomfortable with Azhar’s strong and virulent anti-Shia tendencies. Azhar announced the formation of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) from the Darul Uloom Islamia Binori Town mosque in Karachi, one of the largest religious seminaries in Pakistan and one of the most influential centres of hard-line Deobandi Sunni Muslim ideology in the world. Near about three quarters of Harakat ul-Mujahedin (HUM) members defected to the new organization. The formation of the outfit was endorsed by three religious school chiefs in Pakistan, namely, Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai THE HIJACKING OF IC - 814 Al Qaeda, Taliban and Pakistani Factor Aircraft lands at Lahore (Pakistan) India persuaded the Pakistani authorities to permit the aircraft to land. The aircraft nearly crash-landed and was surrounded by Pakistani commandos. It was refueled and headed for Kabul Aircraft refuelled It was refueled and headed for Kabul. But because of the lack of night-landing facilities there, and later, at Kandahar, the plane was diverted towards Dubai. It finally landed at the Al-Minhat air force base Group Affiliations 25 passengers released . The hijackers demanded food, medicines and a step ladder. The UAE officials agreed to negotiate if the women and children are allowed to disembark. The hijackers released 25 passengers, and allowed the body of Katyal to be released to the UAE authorities. 25/12/1999 w After its formation in January 2000, JEM reportedly became a member of the Army of Islam, a clandestine group raised in Pakistan with support of the official establishment to fight against the Soviet troops in Afghanistan during the anti-Soviet jihad. Under this umbrella organization JEM maintained links with Harakat ul-Mujahedin (HUM), Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) Al Badr, and Al Qaeda. Jamaat-i Ulema-i Islam (JUI-F) JUI-F is a mainstream radical and reportedly pro-Taliban political party in Pakistan. JUI-F chief, Maulana Fazlur Rahaman was a personal friend of Mullah Omar and bin Laden. Maulana Masood Azhar, the chief of JEM maintains extensive contacts with Maulana Fazlur Rahaman. Lashkar-e-Omar: Lashkar-e-Omar is believed to be a clandestine conglomerate of 3 militants groups- Harkar-ul-Jihad Islami (HUJI), Harkat-ul Mujhahideen (HUM) and JEM which surfaced in 2002 in Pakistan. Al Qaeda: JEM leader, Maulana Masood Azhar reportedly fought along with Al Qaeda against the US troops in Somalia in 1994 and had participated in the training of Al Qaeda's supporters in Yemen. Many of the HUM cadres who joined JEM received training in the camps set in Afghanistan by Al Qaeda, especially in Rishkhor near Kabul. When the US led coalition’s Meeting 9 On the morning of 25 December 1999, the flight took off from Dubai for Afghanistan and landed at the Kandahar airport at 0855 hrs. The hijackers demanded the release Mohammad Masood Azhar along with 35 other jailed terrorists and US $200 million and that the body of Harkat-ul-Ansar chief in Jammu & Kashmir Sajjad Afghani be exhumed and the coffin be handed over to them for the release of 154 hostages. Later they dropped their demands for a $200 million ransom and the exhumed remains. 25/12/1999 w Aircraft lands, first demands issued Lands at 0833. Hijackers make their first demand. They want Maulana Masood Azhar, a militant in Indian custody, released. Erick de Mul, a UN official based in Islamabad, flies to Kandahar on a 'humanitarian' mission. 26/12/1999 8:33:00 AM Area of Operation Passenger Anil Khurana is released Anil Khurana, a sick passenger, is released. 26/12/1999 3:41:00 PM JEM is based in Peshawar and Muzaffarabad, (Pakistan). The group, however conducts terrorist activities and operations primarily in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The only instance of its operations outside Jammu and Kashmir has been the 13 December, 2001 attack against the Indian Parliament in New Delhi. JEM maintained training camps in Afghanistan and reportedly ran bases in Azad Kashmir (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir), Pakistan, and India's Doda and southern regions in Jammu and Kashmir. JEM maintained offices in Pakistan and in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) and in some areas of Jammu and Kashmir in India. As per the information compiled by Indian intelligence sources, the central office of the JEM, which was earlier in Islamabad , has now been shifted to Bahawalpur. Old Address: House No. 868, I-10/4, Main Road, Near Kalid Hospital Stop, Islamabad. Ph. No. 051-4432400 New Address: Plane refuelled. 1621: Afghanistan says it will not allow any military operation to rescue hostages. Plane is refuelled. 26/12/1999 4:21:00 PM Unknown Associate in Pakistan Latif was instructed to call London Television Correspondent Radio contact with hijackers An Indian diplomat makes radio contact with the hijackers. 27/12/1999 1:40:00 PM Organizational/Command Structure Jaish-e-Mohammad maintains a centralized hierarchical structure. It has a network of organizing units in v such as Punjab, Karachi, Rawalpindi, Gujjarkhan etc. The head of the JEM is Amir. There are functional de the ones responsible for propaganda, Finance, Military Affairs, POK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) Affairs an It has sector commands (different territories organized as sectors) and camps (training/logistics) each ma commanders. As per the last available information, the organizational/command system of JEM was structured around th office bearers located at its headquarters in Pakistan: Maulana Masood Azhar – Amir (Chief) Conditions on aircraft deteriorate Hostages given breakfast. Condition aboard plane, which is ready for take off but leaking oil,deteriorates. 27/12/1999 10:12:00 AM Maulana Qari Mansoor Ahmed – Nazim, Propaganda Wing Maulana Abdul Jabbar – Nazim, Military Affairs (Former Nazim Military Affairs, (HuM) Maulana Sajjad Usman – In-charge, Finance (Former HuM Nazim Finance) Mufti Mohammad Uwais Kashmiri- In-charge POK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) Affairs
Radio contact with hijackers An Indian diplomat makes radio contact with the hijackers. 27/12/1999 1:40:00 PM called arrested Arrested arrested The call was intercepted which led to the arrest in Mumbai of accomplice Abdul Latif (who received the call), Mohammed Rehan, Mohammed Iqbal (both Pakistanis) and Yusuf Nepali, a citizen of Nepal. arrested arrested arrested Kumar Bhugel Harkat-ul-Ansar (HUA) d Structure Financial Training Operational It has a network of organizing units in various provinces the JEM is Amir. There are functional departments such as K (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) Affairs and publications. ) and camps (training/logistics) each manned by launching system of JEM was structured around the following prominent itary Affairs, (HuM) Finance) 14 tors ied Kashmir) Affairs Hijackers threaten to kill hostages Hijacking date advanced 3 days Hijackers threaten to kill hostages if their demand is not met by 1234 hours. 27/12/1999 11:34:00 AM The date of the hijacking originally planned for 27 December was advanced by three days. 27/12/1999 12:00:00 PM Hjijackers deadline The deadline passes without incident. 27/12/1999 12:34:00 PM Source of Supply: Indian Officials arrive Kandahar. Indian officials arrive in Kandahar. 27/12/1999 6:32:00 PM Direct negotiations with hijacker commence They begin their first direct talks with the hijackers, which continue into the early hours of Tuesday. 27/12/1999 10:56:00 PM Most of the JEM's material resources (weapons etc) have been drawn from the militant groups Harakat ul-Jihad al-Islami (HUJI) and the Harakat ul-Mujahedin (HUM). Most of the JEM's cadre belonged to Harakat ul-Jihad al-Islami (HUJI) and the Harakat ul-Mujahedin (HUM). India has claimed that Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence pays JEM militants, with the recruits being paid approximately $8,500 - $10,630 over a two-year period, half of which is paid in advance to a recruit's family, with the rest collected upon completion of contract. Pakistan, however had denied such charges. Al Rasheed Trust, one of the many ostensibly humanitarian relief organizations, which received extensive financial backing from some Western and Saudi intelligence agencies during the Afghan jihad was suspected to be a funding source for the group. The Al-Rasheed Trust is based in Karachi, Pakistan, and was originally set up as a welfare organisation. In the 1980s, it was co-opted to channel Saudi Arabian funds to Afghan mujahideen. The trust paid compensation to the families of those killed in the Afghan 'jihad'. After the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, the Trust's focus shifted to Kashmir in India to finance insurgency in that state. When Maulana Masood Azhar was released in December 1999, he was put in charge of handling the Trust's assets. Though Azhar maintained the Trust's links with the Taliban, he expanded the concept of jihad to include Kashmir. The Trust has openly funded Kashmiri mujahideen and paid compensation to their families. Telephone calls from hijacked aircraft lead to arrests On 29 December, the hijackers contacted one of their associates in Pakistan who in turn called a Mumbai (India) number. The accomplice in Mumbai was told to inform a television correspondent in London to put out the news that the plane would be blown up if the demands were not met. The call was intercepted which led to the arrest in Mumbai of accomplice Abdul Latif (who received the call), Mohammed Rehan, Mohammed Iqbal (both Pakistanis) and Yusuf Nepali, a citizen of Nepal. Latif apparently was the kingpin at the Indian end, having escorted 'Chief' Athar on 1 November 1999 from Mumbai to Calcutta by air, to New Jalpaiguri by train and from there to Kathmandu (Nepal) by bus. Exactly a month later he took Shaqir ('Shankar') by train to Gorakhpur and further to Kathmandu by bus. Then on 17 December he flew to Kathmandu and returned later by train. The date of the hijacking originally planned for 27 December was advanced by three days. 29/12/1999 12:00:00 PM Military Capability Hijackers reduce demands India begins fourth round of negotiation. Hijackers drop demand for money and return of slain militant's body. 29/12/1999 4:06:00 PM Mohammed Rehan Pakistani Mohammed Iqba Pakistani Yusuf Nepali Nepalese allegedly supplied weapons JEM has several hundred armed cadres located in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, (POK), and in India's southern Kashmir and Doda regions. Following Maulana Masood Azhar's release from detention in India, three quarters of Harakat ul-Mujahedin (HUM) members reportedly defected to the new organization. JEM has also managed to attract a large number of urban Kashmiri youth from Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Its cadre also include Afghans and Arab veterans of the Afghan war. The group uses light and heavy machineguns, assault rifles, mortars, improvised explosive devices, and rocket grenades. As revealed from many of its high profile attacks, i.e. October 2001 attacks against the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly and December 2001 attacks against the Indian Parliament, the group is capable of planning, coordinating and executing operations involving sensitive and even highly protected targets. This has been a factor of the level of training that the group members received in Afghan Training camps. The group appears to be well versed in using modern information systems like mobile/satellite phones, Internet etc for communication. In a statement issued in Srinagar on 4 February 2002, a JEM spokesperson asserted that the group has in its possession as much ammunition as was required to fight against India for next five years. Indian security forces believe that the JEM, with its small but committed network, was capable of daring attacks both under day and night conditions. Afroz Account in Bombay user of Negotiations almost breakdown "Intense round" of direct talks nearly breaks down completely. Additional Taleban troops surround plane. But talks are resumed later. Another sick hostage is released. He returns to plane after treatment. External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh says talks are "extremely delicately poised." 30/12/1999 2:00:00 AM Afroz receives flight training Afroz clocked 100 hours of flying in the southern city of Melbourne in Australia on a single engine twin-seat Cessna 152 and Piped Warrior 28 planes between August 1997 and 1998. He returned to Bombay in 1998. Indian investigators believe that Afroz's family was too poor to pay for the more than $100,000 in fees needed for the classes. They believe that the cost of Afroz's training in Melbourne was borne by the Student's Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) SIMI a banned Indian group linked to many high profile attacks in India Maulana Mansur Ilyas ANZ Grindlays Bank account in New Delhi sent US $ 20000 Investigators also traced remittance of about a million Indian rupees (about US $ 20000) to Afroz's account in Bombay from an ANZ Grindlays Bank account in New Delhi. received Hijackers leave airport in vehicle Though India accused that all the hijackers were Pakistanis and went back to Pakistan after they were released from the custody of the Taliban, Pakistan had vehemently refuted the charges. Reappearing in Karachi Massod Azhar gave an account of what happened after the vehicle carrying the hijackers, the three freed prisoners and a hostage from Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia left Kandahar airport on December 31. "The hijackers said, 'You don't know us. We have never met. We are from India, and we respect you and admire you but we cannot take off our masks." Azhar also said that all three including Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, and Ahmed Umar Saeed Sheikh, crossed together into Pakistan from Afghanistan. But the hijackers released the Taliban hostage -- taken to guarantee their safe passage out of the airport -- and said they were returning to India. Azhar asserted that the hijackers were Indian citizens from Kashmir. 31/12/1999 12:00:00 AM Afroz meets with Ilyas While in Australia, Afroz regularly met with Maulana Mansur Ilyas, the leader of the Verribia Islamic Centre in the Victoria State. Security agencies believe Ilyas to be Al Qaeda's regional leader in Australia. JEM cadres were mostly trained in Madrassas in Pakistan known for imparting military training by serving and retired officers of the Pakistan Army. Many of its members were also trained by Al-Qaeda and related organizations in Afghanistan. JEM chief Massod Azhar himself received training in Yemen with Al Qaeda members in 1994. JEM reportedly maintained training camps in Afghanistan during the Taliban regime (Rishkhor for example) until at least June 2000 when its cadres were expelled from Afghanistan by the Taliban after some of its members were convicted on charges of rape and murder. However, there were reports about some of the JEM cadres being trained in Afghanistan especially persons involved in very high profile missions such as attacks against the Jammu and Kashmir Legislature in Srinagar and Indian Parliament in New Delhi in October and December 2001 respectively. India has claimed that Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) recruits and trains terrorist belonging to groups such as the JEM before dispatching them across the line of control (LoC) Ideology According to Indian intelligence sources, JEM cadres were being trained in camps located at Kahuta, Hazira, Rawalkot JEM in is Pakistan an extremely militant and vio and Palandri opposite Poonch, Aliabad, Putwal and Sialkot opposite Jammu, Zaffarwal, Dudhniyal and Kel opposite the from Kupwara India and its union with Paki sector and in camps north of the Kargil area in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India. from Jammu and Kashmir. It is poli a mainstream political grouping un JEM operated a large training camp at Balakot in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), in Pakistan, run by Yousuf, is reflected a christain from its predisposition t convert from Sindh province I Pakistan who is married to Azhar’s sister, to impart training in batches of 800-1000 trainees. and stay away from education. In p but to stay away from un-Islamic w Recruits from Malaysia and possibly Singapore were believed to have been trained in the offices of the Jaish-e-Mohammad cutting in hair the and against cooperating Binori madrassa complex in Karachi As Maulana Masood Azhar, chief of According to a report prepared by Pakistani intelligence in early 2003, the JEM military training camps in Batrasi andJammu and Kashmir. We have lakhs Syed Ahmad Shaeed in Manshera and Balaskots were still functional and running even after the group was banned in freedom January struggle 2002. by adopting such struggle of Kashmiris and we thus so we would not stop Jihad at any Ideological Keywords Politico-religious and, irredentist , A
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Indian Airlines Hijacking - Visual Analysis

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