Inside the Terrifying World of Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Credit: X/@abhinavpandya
New Delhi: Nearly 25 years since the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC 814, a new book attempts to clear the fog surrounding the involvement of Pakistan's secret agency ISI in "one of the longest hijacking in Indian aviation history" that resulted in the release of three terrorists, including Masood Azhar, who later founded the militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Based on extensive interviews with veteran intelligence and security professionals, Inside the Terrifying World of Jaish-e-Mohammed by Abhinav Pandya, scheduled to release on Saturday, spills the beans on how "every demand and statement made by the hijackers was allegedly done under the mentorship of the ISI".
From ISI handlers guiding IC 814 hijackers to its officials taking Azhar on a victory tour across Pakistan, the book reveals several instances hinting at the Pakistan spy agency's involvement in the Kandahar hijacking.
Pandya recounts his conversation with a former chief of R&AW, who was also a member of the delegation sent to Kandahar to negotiate the release of the 155 passengers, admitting to ISI officers continuously monitoring and guiding the hijackers.
For instance, after the negotiations when one of the hijackers asked Vivek Katju, a 1955-batch Indian diplomat leading the Indian negotiating team, if they could take the plane in possession, "a voice speaking in Urdu was heard asking the hijackers to carry their luggage out before handing over the aircraft to Indians".
"When they realized that it would take time to separate the hijackers' cargo from the baggage of the other passengers, the unknown voice asked the hijackers to tell the Indian negotiators that their bags were full of explosives and, hence, needed to be taken out.
"Perhaps the anonymous ISI handlers wanted to destroy the evidence that could have emerged from those bags... Indian negotiators realized early on that the ISI handlers were guiding the hijackers," Pandya writes in his book.
The book also talks in detail about ISI officials receiving the three terrorists released in exchange for the lives of the hostages.
"When Masood Azhar, Omar Sheikh and Mushtaq 'Latram' Zargar got off the Indian chartered plane which brought them from Delhi, ISI officials received them and verified their identities. One of the ISI men leading the team kissed Omar Sheikh’s head and said, ‘So, back to Kandahar. I am so happy to see you,'" reads the book.
Zargar was earlier involved in the December 12, 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of then home minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed; Sheikh was later accused of kidnapping and murdering American journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002 in Pakistan.
According to the book, the reception and celebration was even grander for Azhar, who was "lionized" and "paraded as a celebrity in a public victory tour across Pakistan" by the ISI -- reportedly to collect funds for creating and running a new terrorist group.
"The grand projection of Masood boosted his popularity and catapulted him into superstar status on the jihadist horizon. Masood went on a lightning tour of the country with ISI officers by his side, giving provocative speeches." After being released, Azhar founded the Islamic extremist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in 2000.
The global terror outfit has carried out several attacks against India, including 2001 Parliament attack, 2016 attack on an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, and 2019 Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed by a suicide bomber.
The book, quoting a classified Indian intelligence report, notes that Brigadier Ijaz Ahmed Shah, a close confidante of former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf, was Masood Azhar's handler in the ISI.
"Shah monitored and calibrated his every move, and played a crucial role in the IC-814 saga for his release. During the hijack, Brigadier Shah was the chief of ISI in Punjab," it added.
Published by HarperCollins India, "Inside the Terrifying World of Jaish-e-Mohammed", priced at Rs 499, is touted to be a critical reading for a detailed understanding of the past, present and likely future of JeM.