India labels IC814 hijacker Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar as terrorist
As per the Home Ministry gazette notification, Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar (52) is the founder and Chief Commander of Al-Umar Mujahideen.
FollowThe Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has declared Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar a terrorist under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. Zargar was amongst the three prisoners India released in exchange for the hijacked Indian Airlines 814 flight passengers.
Following the Home Ministry gazette notification, Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar (52), Late Ghulam Rasool Zargar's son, resident of Gani Mohalla, Jama Masjid, Nowhatta, Srinagar, is the founder and Chief Commander of Al-Umar Mujahideen. The organisation Al-Umar Mujahideen was recorded as a terrorist organisation under the First Schedule to the UAPA, 1967, at serial number 9. He was a member of the terror group in the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front terror outfit and had been to Pakistan for arms and ammunition training.
The ministry further stated that through his activities, Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar is a 'threat to peace, not just for India, but across the globe' because of his contacts and proximity with radical terrorist groups, including Al-Qaeda and Jaish-e-Mohammed.
The notification declared that the central government believes that Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar is involved in terrorism and is to be registered as a terrorist under the UAPA.
About the incident,
On December 24, 1999, Five masked terrorists hijacked Indian Airlines flight IC-814, soon as it entered the Indian airspace, the flight was scheduled to fly to New Delhi from Kathmandu. Instead, it was brought to Kandahar, Afghanistan, where the hostages were released in return for three terrorists: Zargar, Masood Azhar, and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, after tense negotiations. The hijackers had already fatally stabbed one of the passengers.
Later, Masood Azhar formed Jaish-e-Mohammed, the terror organisation that carried out several terror strikes against India, which involved February 2019 Pulwama attack. Another named Sheikh was involved in the abduction and murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl. It is reported that Sheikh also played a crucial role in planning the 9/11 attacks in New York City.
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