The December 1989 abduction of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of then Union home minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, that resulted in the government releasing five terrorists to get her freed, became a ‘benchmark’ during the Indian Airlines hijacking episode (flight IC 814) of December 1999, according to National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah.
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NC president Farooq Abdullah, Omar's father, was the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir during the twin crises.
“This (IC 814 incident) was the second time my father was forced to release people. They (families of passengers) used the Rubaiya Sayeed case as a benchmark. They said when you (government) could release terrorists for a home minister's daughter, our families are not precious? Why is it that only she (Rubaiya) is precious to the country? So, a benchmark was set and had to be followed,” Omar said in an interview with ANI.
The NC vice president, himself a former J&K chief minister, further stated that in 1989, the government of then prime minister VP Singh, had the option of 'not negotiating with terrorists.’
“However, the government chose to negotiate. After that, once you've done it once, then you have to do it again,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“However, the government chose to negotiate. After that, once you've done it once, then you have to do it again,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Omar Abdullah's comments come at a time when he has been in a war of words with a fellow ex-CM, People's Democratic Party (PDP) supremo Mehbooba Mufti, daughter of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and sister of Rubaiya Sayeed.
His remarks also come ahead of the assembly polls in the erstwhile state, now a Union territory, the first such exercise in the region since December 2014. The polling will be held on September 18, 25, and October 1 and the counting of votes will be done on October 8.