Militants’ release was a mistake: Farooq

New Delhi, July 2

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah shouted at then RAW Chief AS Dulat for “hours together” during their meeting after a decision was taken to release three hardcore militants in exchange for the passengers of the hijacked Indian Airlines plane in 1999.

In an interview to a private  channel, Dulat, the former head of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), said Farooq felt the decision by the Union Government was a “mistake” and he had stormed off their meeting to call on then Governor Girish Chander Saxena with an intention to resign.

When the hijacking took place on December 24, the Crisis Management Group (CMG) “goofed up” the entire case by not immobilising the plane when it had landed in Amritsar. “No one was willing to take a decision and in that confusion no instructions were passed on to the Punjab police. They carried on debating and the plane flew off,” Dulat said. 

Dulat said as the CMG agreed to release the three terrorists in exchange for the 155 passengers and the crew members to end the eight-day-old hijack crisis, he was deputed to talk to Farooq in Jammu as two of them — Mushtaq Latram and Malulana Masood Azhar — were lodged in J-K.

Recounting his meeting with Farooq, Dulat said: “He shouted at me for hours together saying this was a mistake being committed by the Centre. After he ventilated his anger, he stormed off to meet Governor Girish Chander Saxena with an intention to resign.  “However, the Governor calmed Farooq down and he eventually agreed to the release of terrorists,” he said — PTI