What can I say about others, I was also guilty… Dulat, who was the RAW chief at the time of Kandahar hijack, told where the mistake happened

New Delhi: The web series ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ released on Netflix has once again reminded the country of the heartbreaking incident which the country had forgotten. In fact, in 1999, Indian Airlines plane IC 814 was hijacked by Pakistani terrorists and they took the plane to Kabul in Afghanistan via Amritsar, Lahore and Dubai instead of Delhi. The web series on Netflix has sparked a fresh debate about this incident. In this debate, questions are being raised on the action taken by the government and many agencies involved at that time. A.S. Dulat, who was the head of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in 1999, admitted in a conversation with India Today TV that there was a lapse in decision making in this matter. Dulat said, ‘Once the plane landed in Amritsar, we had a chance to ensure that it did not leave Indian territory. But when it left Amritsar, there was no other option left except to make a deal.’ he/she further said, ‘No decision was taken. I have said this many times, even when this incident happened. There was a mistake in Amritsar.

Those 50 minutes when the whole game could have changed

In fact, on December 24, 1999, Indian Airlines flight IC 814 from Kathmandu to Delhi was hijacked by five terrorists as soon as it entered Indian airspace. The plane landed in Amritsar for refueling and stayed there for 50 minutes. Despite this, the authorities, including the Punjab Police and Central Intelligence Forces, could not take advantage of it. Dulat said, ‘We were all there and we should have taken a decision. I do not want to blame anyone, it is not fair after so many years. I am as guilty as anyone else.’

Dulat made a shocking revelation

The former RAW chief spoke about his/her long conversation with the then Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Sarabjit Singh on the kidnapping situation. he/she said, ‘I had a long conversation with the Punjab DGP, who told me that he/she is not KPS Gill and he/she is not going to put his/her job at stake. he/she said that the Chief Minister (Parkash Singh Badal) told him/her that he/she does not want bloodshed in Amritsar. Delhi was also giving the same indication.’

Why did the DGP back off?

The DGP said they could storm the plane, but they did not know how many casualties there could be. So nobody wanted to take a decision in the name of bloodshed.’ Dulat said the Punjab police should have been told that the plane should not leave Amritsar, which did not happen. Interestingly, DGP Sarabjit Singh had said on record that he/she would have taken a decision if he/she had received clear instructions from Delhi. To this, Dulat said, ‘I agree with him/her. But what he/she would have done, I do not know. he/she was right when he/she said he/she was waiting for instructions from Delhi which never came.’

What was the role of ISI?

When asked about the role of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in the kidnapping, Dulat said that Pakistan’s intelligence agency was definitely involved. he/she said, ‘ISI definitely had a role in this, there is no doubt about it. This is revealed not only by our report but also by the report of a Pakistani journalist who was present in Kandahar at that time. he/she told that one can understand very clearly how ISI controlled the entire operation.’