'My father was on the Indian Airlines flight that was hijacked by terrorists'; Union Minister reveals

GENEVA: Union Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar revealed that his father was a passenger on the Indian Airlines flight that was hijacked by Khalistan supporters in 1984. Jaishankar made the revelation while speaking to the Indian community in Geneva yesterday. The revelation came during a question related to the web series 'IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack'.

"I was part of the rescue team and was a junior officer at that time. It was only after 34 hours of the hijacking that I came to know that my father was on the plane," he said.

However, Jaishankar clarified that he hasn't watched the Kandahar hijack series.

On July 5, 1984, an Indian Airlines Flight was hijacked from Pathankot and diverted to Dubai. 68 passengers and 6 crew members of the flight were safely rescued after 12 Khalistan supporters surrendered to the authorities. Jaishankar's father was a former IAS officer.

At the same time, the Kandahar plane hijacking occurred in 1999. Over 150 passengers were taken hostage by Pakistani terrorists. Following the terrorists' demands, India had to release three prisoners, including notorious terrorist Masood Azhar, from jail. The Netflix web series on the Kandahar hijacking has sparked controversy for giving Hindu names to the hijackers.