IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack (2024) s01e06 Episode Script
Episode 6
1
Someone's sister, daughter,
child and husband,
all trapped in this hijack.
Have the terrorists no shame?
How low will they stoop?
What's the story with the bomb?
Why haven't the hijackers mentioned it?
Sir, they probably don't know about it.
Al-Qaeda knows. And so does Amjad.
But we don't know
what Amjad intends to do with it.
Sir, the bomb is their last resort,
if talks fail.
Al-Qaeda and Amjad won't accept defeat.
Sir, I'm going back this evening,
to Kathmandu.
Sir,
scores have to be settled
in Kathmandu as well.
Eighteen months ago, Masood's father,
Maulana Allah Bakhsh,
asked Ilyas Kashmiri for help
to free his son.
Ilyas gave Amjad the job.
Why is Osama interested in this?
Because he has great respect
for Maulana Allah Bakhsh.
Amjad hatched the hijack plan
in Kathmandu.
He asked ISI to help and they agreed.
To get back at us for tapping
Musharraf's phone in China.
So far so good.
Then Masood's brother, Ibrahim,
known as Chief, jumped in,
insisting he take part in the hijack.
So Amjad had to go too,
to manage the negotiations.
It's business.
Every party who's invested
wants some returns.
Now what?
We have to pay.
DRS. 30 minutes.
Let's shoot the bastards.
Why didn't you do that a week ago?
Because nobody…
None of us wanted to take the onus.
-Who would, if civilians had died?
-Some might have, sir.
People die in the service of the nation.
Soldiers do.
This isn't a fair fight, DRS.
Our hands are tied.
No one will remember that.
History will put all the blame on us.
And I care about history.
What's more important?
History that's read years from now?
Or our people trapped on IC 814?
Who is behind this hijack?
Why?
Why did we have no clue? Do we care?
All right, that's enough…
Find a song that starts
with the letter A. Or you lose.
You lost! Now it's your turn.
Sing a song starting with Y.
Cigarette?
I quit three years ago.
If you've quit, then don't smoke.
Smoking isn't allowed
on the aircraft anyway.
Sir, can you have this sent
to my address?
For my wife and children.
Details of my savings account.
After I go…
We're done, game over.
DRS.
Mohan.
Start talking to them.
Abhijeet. Sat phone.
Chief ji?
INDIAN AIRLINES
Can anyone hear me?
Chief sahab?
Chief ji?
This is Mukul Mohan.
Can anyone hear me?
Look, Chief sahab, we have to talk.
Unless we talk,
neither of us will get anywhere.
My sincere apologies.
Your frustration is justified
after all our conversations.
It was our fault, I accept.
Our people must be looking
for a solution.
What can they do?
The guns are pointed at our heads,
so what can they do?
Maybe we should kill them.
-Like, here.
-Chhaya.
They are armed, you know,
they have bombs, they have guns.
But if 24 of us attack them?
-Yeah.
-Which 24?
A few have suggested it.
Let me talk to them.
-Some guys said it to me too.
-They were discussing it.
Let's try talking to them now.
What?
Okay, wait. Calm down.
Will the Captain allow this?
No, sir. I allowed him to get aggressive.
The talks had reached stalemate, sir.
We needed a spike.
Without their participation,
we can't make any progress.
They want 35 men freed,
we're offering one.
Yes.
There's a kind of stand-off.
It was necessary.
He should be here any moment, sir.
He sounded fine, but…
I'm not very happy
with this bowser being here.
Bowser means "leave."
What do they want?
Sir, he's 32.
He wears traditional clothes
with a gold Rolex.
He likes money.
If he had his way, he'd live in America.
But he's stuck here.
If we make his life difficult,
he'll do the same to us.
He speaks to the Amir directly
and tells him about us.
And them.
Come in, IC 814.
IC 814, come in.
Come in, IC 814.
IC 814, come in.
Come in, IC 814.
IC 814, come in.
Come in, IC 814.
IC 814, come in.
It's pointless.
I've been trying all morning.
We have to talk to them.
What shall we do?
Come in, IC 814.
IC 814, come in.
Make a deal.
Come in, IC 814.
IC 814, come in.
-Yes?
-Chief.
Foreign Minister, His Excellency
Mr. Muttawakil will talk to you.
Today is the 30th.
The plane has been here six days.
And you've been here for four.
So far, we've cooperated
with both sides,
despite having no involvement
in your personal quarrels.
Now I address you both.
The passengers on board the aircraft
are our guests.
Their safety is our responsibility.
The Amir sends a special message
to you all.
"There will be no bloodshed
on Kandahar soil from either side."
Chief, regarding your two demands,
money and the body of Sajjad Afghani.
These demands must be dropped.
And, Chief, you cannot refuse
to negotiate.
You must talk.
If you fail to reach a deal
through negotiation,
then we'll refuel your aircraft tomorrow
and you're free to go
wherever you want.
God be with you.
Mr. Muttawakil.
Thank you and your government.
Which government, sir?
The one that you don't recognize?
This gesture will go a long way, sir.
What have you decided?
What about you?
I've told you what I want.
Now tell me what you can do.
Okay.
Masood Azhar,
Liaqat and Najam Akhtar.
Noman Bashar and Habibullah Majid.
As I said before, you'll get Masood
plus four other men.
Not acceptable.
Then?
Maulana Masood Azhar,
Omar Saeed Sheikh.
Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar.
Final.
End of discussion.
Omar Saeed Sheikh
and Mushtaq Zargar?
Latram?
Two men are in a prison in Kashmir.
The Chief Minister of Kashmir
will never agree.
Impossible.
We can't give them Latram, sir.
Masood won't do anything immediately.
We'll have time to sort him out.
But Latram?
It's the ISI who want him,
to send back to Kashmir.
He'll be a thorn in our side.
-It's too high a price to pay, sir.
-Yes, it is.
But do we have an alternative?
I don't think so.
We have to free all three.
If we release them,
our decision will be indefensible.
Then let's go and tell him what we think.
What?
That we have to…
release them.
Sir, I don't think
history will see this very kindly.
It's a coalition government.
What choice do we have, Vinay?
Abandon our people?
All I'm trying to say
is that people will only remember
this government freed these militants.
On your advice.
And the PM will be remembered
for ordering their release.
Think it over.
Vinay, I used to have a mentor
in the army.
Brigadier Gurfateh Singh ji Sekhon.
May God bless his soul.
He used to say,
"Son, whenever you pick up a gun,
remember to think a thousand times
before you take a life,
but don't think once
before you save one."
Come. Let us go.
Let's save the lives of our people.
Amazing, sir.
Here.
You heed the lessons of youth
above the experience of age.
The Chief Minister of Kashmir
has refused to release Zargar.
We only have 30 minutes to respond.
Only you can convince the CM.
I can try, sir, but in 30 minutes?
I have to go to Srinagar.
This can't be done by phone.
Look, we have 30 minutes left
to respond to Kandahar,
and you have the whole evening
for Srinagar.
Sir?
You mean…
We say yes now,
and then you go and talk
to the Chief Minister.
Meaning…
we don't have an option, VK.
You'll have to convince
the Chief Minister.
Yes, sir.
The negotiations
with the hijackers are over.
We have reached an agreement.
They will release
all the hostages of IC 814.
In exchange,
we have to release three terrorists.
Maulana Masood Azhar.
Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh.
And Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar.
Back again? I'm not signing anything.
I knew they would send you.
Explain it to them.
This is a big mistake.
No, I won't sign.
I'm leaving for Kandahar
to deal directly
with our negotiating team.
No, DRS. I have to come.
Sir, please.
Listen to me.
There's no need to take any risk, sir.
They are our people.
I want to hug them all.
-Sir.
-They need to know
the government did not abandon them.
Yes, sir.
As you can see,
Minister Vijaybhan Singh's plane
has just landed in Kandahar.
The three terrorists due for release
are also onboard.
Hopes are high that our people
may be freed imminently.
And all passengers will return
safely to India.
Just saw the headline in your newspaper.
I don't think I'm needed there.
I don't think you're right.
I honestly don't.
I'm leaving, Sha.
The day I believe you were right,
I'll come back.
Maybe never, maybe this evening.
I don't know. Bye, Shalini.
End of messages.
INDIAN AIRLINES
We will soon be disembarking.
Only carry…
Have a good life, Chhaya.
God be with you.
Only take your hand baggages.
You'll get your check-in baggage later.
Okay?
Thank you. God be with you.
I hope you can visit our country
next time as a guest.
And we get a chance to offer you
our hospitality.
Thank you, sir.
The bomb is still on the plane.
That's bad news for both our countries.
The man who put it there
has to remove it.
Our government's efforts
have been successful.
A statement will be issued later.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you, sir. We're most grateful.
So we won.
Did we?
We fought.
Did we?
Live visuals are coming
to your screens
from the Indira Gandhi
International airport here in New Delhi.
Only a few hours before the dawn
of the new millennium
and a full eight days after they were
hijacked en route from Kathmandu
and taken to Kandahar,
the crew and passengers
of Flight IC 814
have finally reached
their original destination, New Delhi.
And as they finally step out to freedom,
we can see the friends and family
eagerly waiting on the tarmac,
wanting to know
what really happened on Flight IC 814.
Hi!
Ice cream?
You don't like chocolate.
No harm trying.
Maybe you were right.
Maybe I'll write a happy story tonight.
We have lived through a living hell.
We saw death at 8 times.
We not only suffered misery,
we suffered psychological
warfare by the terrorists.
Captain!
One loose end was left in Kandahar.
The 17 kilos of RDX.
On the Taliban's orders, the hijackers
removed the bag from our plane.
That night, after a tip-off,
when, exactly 17 kilos of RDX was found
at the home of the ISI's Head
in Kathmandu,
he was deported from Nepal.
Our agent, Ram Chandra Yadav,
denied any involvement in the incident.
He called it "poetic justice."
That night at Osama bin Laden's
residence in Tarnak Qila,
the five hijackers and three terrorists
were welcomed with a huge celebration.
With so little connection
between the hijack and the ISI,
they were prevented from
participating in the celebration.
The hijack was over,
but who knows how many innocent lives
these three men were responsible
for taking?
Someone's sister, daughter,
child and husband,
all trapped in this hijack.
Have the terrorists no shame?
How low will they stoop?
What's the story with the bomb?
Why haven't the hijackers mentioned it?
Sir, they probably don't know about it.
Al-Qaeda knows. And so does Amjad.
But we don't know
what Amjad intends to do with it.
Sir, the bomb is their last resort,
if talks fail.
Al-Qaeda and Amjad won't accept defeat.
Sir, I'm going back this evening,
to Kathmandu.
Sir,
scores have to be settled
in Kathmandu as well.
Eighteen months ago, Masood's father,
Maulana Allah Bakhsh,
asked Ilyas Kashmiri for help
to free his son.
Ilyas gave Amjad the job.
Why is Osama interested in this?
Because he has great respect
for Maulana Allah Bakhsh.
Amjad hatched the hijack plan
in Kathmandu.
He asked ISI to help and they agreed.
To get back at us for tapping
Musharraf's phone in China.
So far so good.
Then Masood's brother, Ibrahim,
known as Chief, jumped in,
insisting he take part in the hijack.
So Amjad had to go too,
to manage the negotiations.
It's business.
Every party who's invested
wants some returns.
Now what?
We have to pay.
DRS. 30 minutes.
Let's shoot the bastards.
Why didn't you do that a week ago?
Because nobody…
None of us wanted to take the onus.
-Who would, if civilians had died?
-Some might have, sir.
People die in the service of the nation.
Soldiers do.
This isn't a fair fight, DRS.
Our hands are tied.
No one will remember that.
History will put all the blame on us.
And I care about history.
What's more important?
History that's read years from now?
Or our people trapped on IC 814?
Who is behind this hijack?
Why?
Why did we have no clue? Do we care?
All right, that's enough…
Find a song that starts
with the letter A. Or you lose.
You lost! Now it's your turn.
Sing a song starting with Y.
Cigarette?
I quit three years ago.
If you've quit, then don't smoke.
Smoking isn't allowed
on the aircraft anyway.
Sir, can you have this sent
to my address?
For my wife and children.
Details of my savings account.
After I go…
We're done, game over.
DRS.
Mohan.
Start talking to them.
Abhijeet. Sat phone.
Chief ji?
INDIAN AIRLINES
Can anyone hear me?
Chief sahab?
Chief ji?
This is Mukul Mohan.
Can anyone hear me?
Look, Chief sahab, we have to talk.
Unless we talk,
neither of us will get anywhere.
My sincere apologies.
Your frustration is justified
after all our conversations.
It was our fault, I accept.
Our people must be looking
for a solution.
What can they do?
The guns are pointed at our heads,
so what can they do?
Maybe we should kill them.
-Like, here.
-Chhaya.
They are armed, you know,
they have bombs, they have guns.
But if 24 of us attack them?
-Yeah.
-Which 24?
A few have suggested it.
Let me talk to them.
-Some guys said it to me too.
-They were discussing it.
Let's try talking to them now.
What?
Okay, wait. Calm down.
Will the Captain allow this?
No, sir. I allowed him to get aggressive.
The talks had reached stalemate, sir.
We needed a spike.
Without their participation,
we can't make any progress.
They want 35 men freed,
we're offering one.
Yes.
There's a kind of stand-off.
It was necessary.
He should be here any moment, sir.
He sounded fine, but…
I'm not very happy
with this bowser being here.
Bowser means "leave."
What do they want?
Sir, he's 32.
He wears traditional clothes
with a gold Rolex.
He likes money.
If he had his way, he'd live in America.
But he's stuck here.
If we make his life difficult,
he'll do the same to us.
He speaks to the Amir directly
and tells him about us.
And them.
Come in, IC 814.
IC 814, come in.
Come in, IC 814.
IC 814, come in.
Come in, IC 814.
IC 814, come in.
Come in, IC 814.
IC 814, come in.
It's pointless.
I've been trying all morning.
We have to talk to them.
What shall we do?
Come in, IC 814.
IC 814, come in.
Make a deal.
Come in, IC 814.
IC 814, come in.
-Yes?
-Chief.
Foreign Minister, His Excellency
Mr. Muttawakil will talk to you.
Today is the 30th.
The plane has been here six days.
And you've been here for four.
So far, we've cooperated
with both sides,
despite having no involvement
in your personal quarrels.
Now I address you both.
The passengers on board the aircraft
are our guests.
Their safety is our responsibility.
The Amir sends a special message
to you all.
"There will be no bloodshed
on Kandahar soil from either side."
Chief, regarding your two demands,
money and the body of Sajjad Afghani.
These demands must be dropped.
And, Chief, you cannot refuse
to negotiate.
You must talk.
If you fail to reach a deal
through negotiation,
then we'll refuel your aircraft tomorrow
and you're free to go
wherever you want.
God be with you.
Mr. Muttawakil.
Thank you and your government.
Which government, sir?
The one that you don't recognize?
This gesture will go a long way, sir.
What have you decided?
What about you?
I've told you what I want.
Now tell me what you can do.
Okay.
Masood Azhar,
Liaqat and Najam Akhtar.
Noman Bashar and Habibullah Majid.
As I said before, you'll get Masood
plus four other men.
Not acceptable.
Then?
Maulana Masood Azhar,
Omar Saeed Sheikh.
Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar.
Final.
End of discussion.
Omar Saeed Sheikh
and Mushtaq Zargar?
Latram?
Two men are in a prison in Kashmir.
The Chief Minister of Kashmir
will never agree.
Impossible.
We can't give them Latram, sir.
Masood won't do anything immediately.
We'll have time to sort him out.
But Latram?
It's the ISI who want him,
to send back to Kashmir.
He'll be a thorn in our side.
-It's too high a price to pay, sir.
-Yes, it is.
But do we have an alternative?
I don't think so.
We have to free all three.
If we release them,
our decision will be indefensible.
Then let's go and tell him what we think.
What?
That we have to…
release them.
Sir, I don't think
history will see this very kindly.
It's a coalition government.
What choice do we have, Vinay?
Abandon our people?
All I'm trying to say
is that people will only remember
this government freed these militants.
On your advice.
And the PM will be remembered
for ordering their release.
Think it over.
Vinay, I used to have a mentor
in the army.
Brigadier Gurfateh Singh ji Sekhon.
May God bless his soul.
He used to say,
"Son, whenever you pick up a gun,
remember to think a thousand times
before you take a life,
but don't think once
before you save one."
Come. Let us go.
Let's save the lives of our people.
Amazing, sir.
Here.
You heed the lessons of youth
above the experience of age.
The Chief Minister of Kashmir
has refused to release Zargar.
We only have 30 minutes to respond.
Only you can convince the CM.
I can try, sir, but in 30 minutes?
I have to go to Srinagar.
This can't be done by phone.
Look, we have 30 minutes left
to respond to Kandahar,
and you have the whole evening
for Srinagar.
Sir?
You mean…
We say yes now,
and then you go and talk
to the Chief Minister.
Meaning…
we don't have an option, VK.
You'll have to convince
the Chief Minister.
Yes, sir.
The negotiations
with the hijackers are over.
We have reached an agreement.
They will release
all the hostages of IC 814.
In exchange,
we have to release three terrorists.
Maulana Masood Azhar.
Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh.
And Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar.
Back again? I'm not signing anything.
I knew they would send you.
Explain it to them.
This is a big mistake.
No, I won't sign.
I'm leaving for Kandahar
to deal directly
with our negotiating team.
No, DRS. I have to come.
Sir, please.
Listen to me.
There's no need to take any risk, sir.
They are our people.
I want to hug them all.
-Sir.
-They need to know
the government did not abandon them.
Yes, sir.
As you can see,
Minister Vijaybhan Singh's plane
has just landed in Kandahar.
The three terrorists due for release
are also onboard.
Hopes are high that our people
may be freed imminently.
And all passengers will return
safely to India.
Just saw the headline in your newspaper.
I don't think I'm needed there.
I don't think you're right.
I honestly don't.
I'm leaving, Sha.
The day I believe you were right,
I'll come back.
Maybe never, maybe this evening.
I don't know. Bye, Shalini.
End of messages.
INDIAN AIRLINES
We will soon be disembarking.
Only carry…
Have a good life, Chhaya.
God be with you.
Only take your hand baggages.
You'll get your check-in baggage later.
Okay?
Thank you. God be with you.
I hope you can visit our country
next time as a guest.
And we get a chance to offer you
our hospitality.
Thank you, sir.
The bomb is still on the plane.
That's bad news for both our countries.
The man who put it there
has to remove it.
Our government's efforts
have been successful.
A statement will be issued later.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you, sir. We're most grateful.
So we won.
Did we?
We fought.
Did we?
Live visuals are coming
to your screens
from the Indira Gandhi
International airport here in New Delhi.
Only a few hours before the dawn
of the new millennium
and a full eight days after they were
hijacked en route from Kathmandu
and taken to Kandahar,
the crew and passengers
of Flight IC 814
have finally reached
their original destination, New Delhi.
And as they finally step out to freedom,
we can see the friends and family
eagerly waiting on the tarmac,
wanting to know
what really happened on Flight IC 814.
Hi!
Ice cream?
You don't like chocolate.
No harm trying.
Maybe you were right.
Maybe I'll write a happy story tonight.
We have lived through a living hell.
We saw death at 8 times.
We not only suffered misery,
we suffered psychological
warfare by the terrorists.
Captain!
One loose end was left in Kandahar.
The 17 kilos of RDX.
On the Taliban's orders, the hijackers
removed the bag from our plane.
That night, after a tip-off,
when, exactly 17 kilos of RDX was found
at the home of the ISI's Head
in Kathmandu,
he was deported from Nepal.
Our agent, Ram Chandra Yadav,
denied any involvement in the incident.
He called it "poetic justice."
That night at Osama bin Laden's
residence in Tarnak Qila,
the five hijackers and three terrorists
were welcomed with a huge celebration.
With so little connection
between the hijack and the ISI,
they were prevented from
participating in the celebration.
The hijack was over,
but who knows how many innocent lives
these three men were responsible
for taking?