Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, who was involved in a series of terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir and was one of the released terrorists in the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 in 1999, has been designated as a terrorist by the Union government.
Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, one of three militants released by India in 1999 in exchange for passengers of a hijacked Indian Airlines flight, has decided to revive an "armed struggle" in Jammu and Kashmir while using Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as the base for his Al Umar Mujahideen group.
Security forces immediately cordoned off the area and launched search operations to track down the militants.
Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha who joined Trinamool Congress on Saturday narrated how West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had offered to go as a hostage in exchange for passengers of Air India's IC 814 that was hijacked by the militants over two decades ago.
Developing relations with the Taliban is needed, but plunging headlong into Afghanistan without due thought will be akin to the rooster entering a KFC outlet, warns Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd).
"The 'red bag' belonged to one of the hijackers, it contained explosives, and possibly, real passports, too.
The red corner notice was issued on the request of the CBI against seven accused in the hijacking of the Indian Airlines plane from Kathmandu to Kandahar in southern Afghanistan on December 24, 1999 -- Yousuf Azhar, Ibrahim Athar, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Zahoor Ibrahim, Shahid Akhter, Sayed Shakir and Abdul Rauf, they said.
Omar Saeed Sheikh, the terrorist freed by India in exchange for the hostages of a hijacked plane in 2000, has attempted suicide in a Pakistani jail, an official said on Saturday.
Gul is the sixth individual to have been designated as a terrorist by the Centre in the last fortnight.
The Congress accused the BJP and a section of media of deliberately twisting Gandhi's remarks.
Nengroo is the fifth individual to have been designated as a terrorist by the Centre in the last fortnight.
Pearl, the 38-year-old South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, was abducted and beheaded while he was in Pakistan investigating a story on the alleged links between the country's powerful spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence and Al Qaeda.
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack begins by asking why the hijack lasted seven days and ends in wondering if the good guys fought the bad ones hard enough, observes Sukanya Verma.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jailtey on Tuesday defended the Vajpayee government's releasing the three most wanted terrorists in return for the safety of passengers of the Indian Airlines plane hijacked to Kandahar in 1999, saying the lives of all Indians were "more precious" than the release of the terrorists.
The Congress questioned Modi what was the use of "swinging" with Xi.
'Who sent Masood Azhar back to Pakistan? Who bowed down to terror and released him? Not the Congress, but it was the BJP government'
'Why are you not saying that the person who killed CRPF jawans was sent to Pakistan by BJP?'
A total of 123 candidates, including seven ministers of Congress-National Conference coalition, eight former ministers and legislators are in fray for the Jammu and Kashmir's first phase of elections scheduled later this month.
Former Director General of Sikkim Police Avinash Mohananey interrogated Azhar many a times during his two-decade tenure in the Intelligence Bureau.
For two decades after his release in exchange for passengers of a hijacked Indian Airlines plane in 1999, Azhar has since been the darling of Pakistan's external snooping agency Inter-Services Intelligence.
'There is a consensus within the Indian security establishment -- at least among those who draw their conclusions from data instead of speaking from nationalist sentiment -- that India lacks the offensive capability to defeat Pakistan in a short war.'
Even as France mourns the bloodiest terrorist attack for 20 years, let's take a look at some major standoffs witnessed in the past:
Pakistan has taken too much of a chance with Pulwama - with the wrong government in India, and at the wrong time.
'Jaish is known for its fidayeen activities.' 'This well trained human resource backed by military-based training makes the JeM an obvious choice over the LeT and HM.'
