by Anil Jaggia
Around 8.00 p.m. news trickled in that four persons had been killed by the hijackers; this resulted in panic and hysteria. With no official communication from the information counters, there was a virtual stampede. “We don’t have any names ... it is not confirmed ...” an IA official tried to placate the overwrought relatives but there was little to console with. Many of them broke down, praying that their loved ones were not among the four. As news travelled, more relatives poured in and the situation grew out of hand.
When Union Minister for Civil Aviation Sharad Yadav walked in to inform them that the security officials in Amritsar had heard no gunshots, and that the news might not be true, many at the airport began to pray.
* * *
On board IC 814
It was touch and go as Captain Sharan pulled up the Airbus seconds before landing on the runway in Lahore. As he pulled up the aircraft, the fuel gauges told their own story. The aircraft had only a few minutes of fuel left. The fuel-reserve warning light had been on for some time. I was marking time, hoping the engines would not flame out.
At that very moment, ATC Lahore came on the radio and said: “IC 814, we are switching on the lights. Come on the runway.”
Had it been the near disaster on the highway that had led to their change of heart?
This time there were no hiccups. We saw to it that the Airbus landed safely. Captain Sharan then told ATC Lahore that the hijackers were not allowing us to switch off the aircrafts engines. In fact, they did exactly what they had asked us to do at Amritsar. They ordered Sharan to move the plane up and the down the runway again and yet again. They were obviously experienced and had done their drill well. We were asked to switch on our external lights so they could get a clearer view of the outside. And they constandy looked through the windows for any suspicious movements.
Lahore wanted the aircraft parked in an isolation bay, but once again Red Cap refused to agree. He wanted the aircraft on the main runway.
However, when he asked for fuel, for a brief moment I heard a hint of fear in his voice. He wasn’t his usual composed self. The reason for this soon became apparent. He suspected that we may have landed the aircraft at Halwara or some other Indian airport. Not wanting to take any chances, he ordered us to tell ATC Lahore to identify and assure him that this was indeed Lahore. A short while later, a man in a Pakistani shalwar-kameez came into view.
“Anybody could wear that,” Red Cap said.
I asked him what he wanted by way of proof of having landed at Lahore. He asked for a vehicle with a Lahore registration number. This was soon despatched, and came into our view. However, the hijacker remained unconvinced till he had seen another car with a Lahore registration number.
Though mollified, he kept badgering us to ask the airport authorities to supply us with fuel. The fuel was so low, even the engines had started sputtering. But what was immediately worrying the hijackers was the sight of some airport security personnel. At Captain Sharan’s request, the security cover was withdrawn. Only then did a bowser come and stop near the aircraft.
As the coupler from the bowser was attached to the coupler of the aircraft, by some quirk of fate, it broke, and fuel started leaking. Refuelling was halted, and it took a little while to re-fix the coupler. Red Cap became restless. He knew where the fuel registers were on the cockpit panel. ATC advised us to wait for another bowser to come.
Refuelling an A300 is a slow process that can take upto half an hour. But hijackers aren’t obviously bothered by such technicalities, or perhaps their homework didn’t include such details. Red Cap was getting irritated at the slow progress of the refuelling, yet he wanted a full load. He insisted on the tanks being filled to the brim. In an aircraft that has a full payload of passengers and luggage, the additional weight of the fuel can be fatal.
I tried to convince him to take a slightly reduced amount, but he retorted: “You’ll do exactly what I want you to do. You won’t argue with me.”
I said that taking full tanks could have disastrous consequences since this would mean that the aircraft would be heavier than the maximum allowed weight. Red Cap said that we had no alternative in this matter. I watched the pumping of the fuel with horror. The hijacker reiterated: “Go ahead and destroy the aircraft. I’ll be really grateful. And don’t argue with me.”
After the refuelling, we requested him to release the injured and the sick passengers, and all women, children and old persons. Surprisingly, he agreed. “You can do that,” he said. The request was communicated to Lahore. But Lahore did not want the passengers. “You had promised to just take fuel from here,” the radio crackled. “Now go away from here.”
The request was repeated a number of times by Sharan and Rajinder but fell on deaf ears. Lahore simply replied: “IC 814, you’ve got the fuel, now go wherever you want to. We are not going to let you offload anybody or anything here. You had promised you will take the fuel and go. Now you have got the fuel, you may go.”
Captain Sharan said, “We only want some injured and sick passengers to be offloaded. The hijackers have given us the permission for this.”
There was no reply from ATC.
Rajinder spoke next: “Sir, we have some passengers who have been badly injured. Please accept them.”
Once again, there was no reply. But after an interval, Lahore ATC announced: “814, you may start and go.”
Captain Sharan and Rajinder repeated their pleas but to no effect. Lahore was adamant that we leave.
Here was a case of flagrant violation of all norms of international conventions. Even in times of war, a state comes to the aid of injured and sick soldiers. While here, Pakistan remained unwilling to provide medical aid to injured passengers in an aircraft that had been forced to land there. It was the worst case of deprivation of human rights that I had ever seen. Like everyone else on board the aircraft, I will always wonder if the stabbed Rupin Katyal’s fate would have been different, had Lahore accepted the injured passengers.
Red Cap asked us to take off, now that there was no point in staying on the ground. Captain Sharan asked him which destination he wanted to fly to so that the copilot could chalk out a flight path. Besides, he added, “There’s no point in flying aimlessly.” But the hijacker was adamant. “I’ll tell you my destination when we are in the air, not on the ground.”
* * *
New Delhi
Upon pressure from DGCA, New Delhi, Lahore airport switched on its landing lights and removed the physical obstructions from the runway. Moments later, news came in that IC 814 had landed at Lahore airport.
There were sighs of relief at the CMG when this news was passed on by Khola.
But for India, negotiations were now entering another phase.
Jaswant Singh was at the Prime Minister’s residence when they were given the news. There was no choice now but to break the ice in the relations with General Pervez Musharraf’s military regime, the chill in Indo-Pak relations notwithstanding. Jaswant Singh was asked by the Prime Minister to request the Pakistanis to ensure that no passenger aboard the plane was harmed, and to provide all humanitarian help. He called up Pakistani Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar and requested him to ensure that the lives of the passengers and crew were not endangered, and to provide any assistance to help end the crisis. The External Affairs Minister also managed to speak to his friend in Washington DC, US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, about the need for the US to apply pressure on Pakistan to try and contain the crisis.
Like most White House officials, Talbott had been looking forward to his Christmas break. However, the officials of the South Asia Division were told to rush to the State Department and the US Ambassadors in the region were also sounded. And even though it was Christmas the following day, State Department officials worked closely with New Delhi and Islamabad on the hijack.
By now, officials in India were in constant touch with the Pakistani authorities. At the DGCA, Khola received the updates from the ATC and passed them on to the CMG. On
a parallel track, officials in South Block were in touch with the Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan G. Parthasarthy and other officials were in contact with the Pakistani government. William Milam, the US Ambassador in Pakistan impressed the need to cooperate upon Pakistani authorities. Senior officials of the Pakistan Army rushed to Lahore airport and had it sealed.
Meanwhile, there were anxious moments at the Indian Prime Ministers residence. Senior members of the Cabinet closeted with Vajpayee were trying to gauge the outcome of the crisis, even as External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh stepped up the pace of diplomatic activity.
By late that evening, Singh had spoken to Sattar on three separate occasions. Indian High Commissioner Parthasarthy asked South Block for its help in providing a helicopter to enable him to reach Lahore from Islamabad. Singh spoke to Sattar once again. This time he had a specific request: Could Ambassador Parthasarthy be provided with a helicopter to enable him to reach Lahore? Sattar promised to look into it. But by the time the helicopter was provided at 10.35 p.m. and took off from Islamabad, it was too late. IC 814 had taken off from Lahore at 10.32 p.m., destination unknown.
* * *
On board IC 814
“Aap Kabul challen (Go to Kabul).”
On hearing Red Cap’s words, a chill entered my heart. Kabul was just what we didn’t want after our harrowing experience. It was uncharted territory and at night without flight plans, it would be a difficult trip for us. But the hijacker said: “Kabul and nowhere else.”
We enquired why he wanted to go to Kabul. “None of your business,” he shot back. “This is the millennium flight. You will go where we want it to go. And we will take you around the world. Besides, why are you afraid of Kabul? We will take you to a lot of places.”
This looked bad. Kabul was Taliban country. No pilot of any airline would like to fly to Kabul even under normal circumstances, and certainly not while hijacked by a band of reckless, cold-blooded terrorists. Besides being a strife-torn and lawless country, Afghanistan is afloat in a sea of arms. Just about every faction in that country has Stinger and Igla missiles that can bring down aircraft. In fact, during the days of the Soviet occupation, Russian aircraft when taking off or landing, from Kabul airport, would release flares and hot aluminium chaff to throw heat-seeking missiles off their course. Military aircraft still take such evasive action while landing in troubled spots of the world. But civilian aircraft have no such protection. Moreover, the ring of hills around Kabul is perfect for snipers and those wanting target practice with missiles.
We were desperate. For Indians, the only country worse than Pakistan is Afghanistan. We turned to plead with Red Cap: “We will cooperate with you, but you must also cooperate with us. We have taken you wherever you’ve wanted to go. We will fly you to any place you want—but not Kabul. It’s not safe for any plane at night with the hills around the city. Besides, there is no night landing facility there.” But our hijacker would not listen to our entreaties. It was awfully frustrating.
Just then, a bright idea crossed my mind. I told Red Cap: “We’ll take you to a better destination. It could suit your purpose.”
“Where will you take me?”
“We will take you to Geneva,” I said.
“Why Geneva?”
“Switzerland is a neutral country. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has its headquarters there. That will be the ideal place to highlight any issue that you may have. The country is in the middle of Europe. The press will cover you. Your pictures will be all over the papers; there will be TV coverage. I feel that is the best place for a person like you. And we will request the Swiss government that in return for the passengers’ safety, you should be given political asylum in that country. And we know the route. As for Kabul, we don’t know how to get there.”
But it was like running into a brick wall. The chief hijacker refused to take the bait. He just said, “Kabul, and only Kabul.”
Once more I tried my persuasion skills. “Just listen to me and think coolly,” I said. “You will get more mileage in Geneva. What’s there in Kabul? What have they got except the Taliban? Who’ll listen to you there? Let’s go to Switzerland. There you’ll get, like I said, amnesty, publicity and sympathy If you still don’t agree, I have one more place in mind— Sharjah. We know the route to Dubai well. Forget Kabul.”
At this, the chief hijacker mused, “Geneva . . .” Sharan and I saw a glimmer of hope. Red Cap consulted Burger and then he turned back to us: “Suppose we don’t get political asylum there? Earlier your Captain had promised us fuel in three minutes in Amritsar. What happened there? They didn’t listen to you. If your county doesn’t guarantee your promises, why would Geneva listen to you?”
At this, I said: “We will try our best. In such cases, they do give asylum. There have been many cases where people have taken asylum and are now staying there. Geneva is famous for giving asylum.” Red Cap retorted, “That’s enough of your lecture. I don’t want to hear any more. Take us to Kabul.”
We were forced to agree. Captain Sharan requested ATC Lahore to give the checkpoints for drawing up a flight plan to Kabul. Lahore tower transmitted the checkpoints and co-pilot Rajinder noted them down while Sharan fed the coordinates into the aircraft’s Global Positioning System (GPS).
There was nothing more to keep us at Lahore. IC 814 took off for Kabul.
While still in Pakistani airspace over Dera Ismail Khan, Lahore ATC came back on the radio to say that both Afghan airspace and Kabul runway were closed.
Immediately, we got Kabul airport on HF frequency 3467. Kabul airport replied that it was closed for the night, and that night landing was not possible. This was conveyed to Red Cap who went into a huddle with the other hijackers over this development. Whatever its content, the end of the discussion brought us some relief. We were tersely told to head for the Emirates.
Asked whether we should aim for Muscat, Sharjah or Dubai, Red Cap said, “Aap Dubai chaliye. (Go to Dubai.)”
We turned left behind Dera Ismail Khan and headed towards the warmer air of Karachi. On the way, he informed Lahore ATC that the aircraft was now heading for Dubai. Before entering Karachi flight instrument range, we were informed by Lahore ATC that Iranian airspace was off limits to us, as was Tehran airport, its runway being blocked. We were left with very few options. The shortest route to Dubai was over Iran, but it was no longer a possibility for us. Red Cap was told about this, and he charted out our new route. “You head for UAE via A1pore,” ATC advised. So we headed for Alpore, south-west off Karachi.
11.30 p.m. It had been seven hours since we had left Kathmandu. By now, the tension in the cockpit had eased a bit. Sharan, Rajinder and I had not had even a glass of water or any other beverage since the storming of the cockpit by the terrorists. We had no idea what Red Cap’s intentions were. He appeared to be a highly charged character, yet he was able to keep calm. He had only one thing to say: “We want to internationalise the Kashmir issue.” And if this meant taking the plane around the world, he appeared ready to do so. He said again that if their demands were not met, they would give India a millennium present on millennium night. “But why won’t they agree to our demands? Of course, they’ll agree. You just watch.”
They were on a Do-or-Die mission.
Since we were now part of their mission, our only recourse lay in doing their bidding without causing them any annoyance. There was no room for any heroics. The fate of 178 innocent lives depended on us.
Somewhere between Karachi and the UAE, Captain Sharan and I were allowed to go to the toilet one at a time. Our request for tea was also granted.
The hijackers, meanwhile, refused any food or drink for themselves.
I couldn’t help but wonder what they were cooking up next.
* * *
New Delhi
At the CMG—the brainstorming headquarters—the news of the take-off from Lahore was accompanied by a wave of unease. What lay ahead for the stormy flight? No one was willing to hazard a guess.
It had become known that a flight pattern had been fed into the GPS for Kabul, and CMG officials were dreading the entry of the Indian aircraft into the Taliban stronghold. Afghanistan’s Taliban regime was taboo in diplomatic circles. But in preparation for the inevitable, India began to activate its diplomatic channels. Foreign Secretary Lalit Mansingh kept Jaswant Singh updated as the aircraft was tracked through the ATCs, and the DGCA kept in touch with those ATCs where the plane could possibly land. South Block was a beehive of activity. India’s ambassadors in the Gulf countries were put on alert.
At the Indian Airlines Flight Despatch Cell, there was no communication with the aircraft, nor was its destination known. From a stationary Airbus A320, Kabul ATC was contacted and asked for news of the hijacked flight. Kabul replied: “IC 814 airborne Lahore 10.30 p.m. estimating Kabul 11.29 p.m.”
At the Central Committee control room, the atmosphere remained tense as the aircraft seemed headed for Afghanistan. The worst nightmare of the South Block mandarins appeared to be coming true. They would now be forced to deal with the Taliban which had been considered a pariah regime by them. India was among the first countries to condemn the Taliban and had stopped permission for its Ariana Afghan flights to India.
About 45 minutes later, Kabul was raised again by Captain Ranbir Mohan, Deputy General Manager, Indian Airlines, to confirm the safe landing of the flight. Kabul ATC replied: “IC 814 aircraft changed course and now heading for Dubai. Estimating Dubai 1.30 a.m.”
It was almost a relief when Khola was informed that the hijacked aircraft had been turned back from Dera Ismail Khan because Kabul had not given it permission to land at night.
Jaswant Singh contacted Talbott once again with a request for help. Foreign Secretary Lalit Mansingh stayed in close touch with US Ambassador in Delhi, Richard Celeste who kept him updated on the steps being taken by America’s South Asia Division. At the CMG control room, Cabinet Secretary Prabhat Kumar, other secretaries and intelligence chiefs went into another huddle of talks on what seemed to be a night without end. NSG chief Nikhil Kumar was asked to keep a team of commandos on standby. The NSG had put up a direct wireless link outside the CMG office that could be activated the moment the decision was taken to storm the aircraft.
