36 years after hijacking

On this day, 36 years ago on March 2, 1981, an incident caused colossal political damage not only to democratic struggle against military dictatorship but also to the Pakistan Peoples Party, causing a split in the Bhutto family. A PIA flight going from Karachi to Peshawar was hijacked and taken to Kabul, the journey which led either hijackers or militant politics to nowhere. 

It took the PPP years to recover. It was one of the major hijacking incidents in the airliners history that lasted 13 days and ended with the release of 54 political prisoners. One person who benefitted most from this episode was the late General Ziaul Haq as it helped him prolong his rule.

Not many people know the 'actual story' behind this drama. For the first time, Pakistanis had become aware of the Al-Zulfikar Organisation. Whether it was a myth or a reality out of political romance for a leader, two of the three hijackers have been living like strangers till date. In private conversations, they do 'regret' what they did but are reluctant to speak out in public, yet.

A source well aware of this hijacking episode revealed that one of the hijackers when boarded the plane was not even aware that he was heading for a journey which would lead him to nowhere. Secondly, till this day, there is still no clue to at least 19 PPP workers who were released on the hijackers’ demand. Thirdly, it was the beginning of differences between Benazir Bhutto and Mir Murtaza Bhutto as BB, after ending her exile in 1986, distanced herself from Mir.

Details collected by me about this unprecedented drama which caused more damage than benefit to the PPP revealed that hijacker Arshad, who turned out to be a 'reluctant hijacker', had no criminal record along with Salamullah alias Tipu and his cousin Nasir Jamal. After landing in Peshawar, he was told they were going to Kabul by road. Tipu, the mastermind, was hanged on charges of killing an Afghan in Kabul in 1984. The other two spent life either as 'fugitive' or were kept in jail by the Libyan government after they left Syria.

Source disclosed that about a year back, Nasir Jamal and Arshad Khan also parted ways and left Libya for unknown locations after political changes in Libya and the death of Col Gaddafi. The drop scene of the terror group of the 80s – AZO formed by Mir Murtaza Bhutto, came in 1993 when Mir abandoned it, denounced violent politics and formed the PPP (Shaheed Bhutto). The AZO certainly damaged the political struggle in the country and put thousands of PPP workers into jails. Mir was killed in 1996 in a controversial police encounter. 

Terrorism has its own manifestations, but, historically, it only brought negative impacts to the society and the generations to come. Thousands of PPP workers suffered for almost 11 years during General Ziaul Haq's period because of this ‘adventure’ and use of violent means to avenge the execution of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Few days before the plan was supposed to be executed, Tipu got a message to postpone it till further orders, but he was desperate because the police were chasing him in connection with the murder of an IJT activist at the Karachi University. Prior to hijacking, he went to Kabul and allegedly met Mir and others to seek instructions. For Arshad, It was like a journey to nowhere, particularly when he saw Tipu pulling out a pistol and announcing that they were going to Kabul. The plane was first diverted to Kabul and later landed in Damascus. All the three hijackers parted ways within three years after the incident. 

The AZO myth is also an eye-opener for those young workers who often fall victim to political romance. Even today, thousands of political and ideological workers have taken arms in the name of ethnic, sectarian or nationalist politics. Nasir and Arshad spent a tough life, particularly during the last 20 years, running from one country to another. Mir could not win pardon for them. Initially, the two were treated well and given jobs in Libya but then jailed for few years. After the fall of Col Gaddafi, the situation went worse for them. Their dilemma continued as they had Pakistani passports. During their stay in Syria and Libya, they got married too.

Hundreds of AZO militants went through a trauma. Some died or were killed while at least 19 of them are still missing including the AZO head in Pakistan, Manzar Alam. The organisation also included Altaf Abbasi who allegedly played a role in the 1972 Israeli players hostage drama staged by a group of Palestinians. While Benazir Bhutto had never owned the AZO as she believed in political struggle, PPP activists also formed the Peoples Liberation Army which tried to get Bhutto out of jail, but he refused and said he would go through political and legal course.

It’s the story of thousands of young minds who opted for adventurism and radicalization and took arms in the name of ideology or romance for their leader, but their lives often ended up in trauma.

The writer is a senior columnist and analyst of the Geo News, The News and daily Jang.

Twitter@MazharAbbasGEO