Ghosts of Kandahar return to haunt BJP

The times could not have been any worse for Bharatiya Janata Party.

The right-wing party, which has been pulling out all stops to contain internal damage arising out of the Lok Sabha election debacle, now faces the ghost of Kandahar.

The then Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance government did rescue 166 passengers on board Indian Airlines aircraft IC-814 in 1999 in exchange for three dreaded terrorists lodged in the country's jails, but the behind-the-scene actions of the government have been a mystery.

Today, the mystery is unfolding at the most inopportune moment. ...

Party leader L K Advani, then deputy prime minister, contended that he did not know that a cabinet minister (Jaswant Singh) would be flying to Kandahar in Afghanistan to secure the release of the hostages in exchange for Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and Maulana Masood Azhar (who later founded the Jaish-e-Mohammed).

The government's decision to free the dreaded terrorists had then drawn criticism from all quarters, including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The then RSS joint general secretary, K S Sudarshan had criticised the Vajpayee government for its 'capitulation' before the hijackers.

However, sources inside Advani's home ministry stated that Advani opposed the Vajpayee cabinet's decision to obtain the release of the Indian passengers held hostage by releasing the terrorists.

In fact, during a cabinet meeting on December 31, 2001, Advani underscored that releasing the terrorists would be tantamount to India bowing to the blackmail of the Taliban aided and abetted by Pakistan.

A few other BJP leaders, including then Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan, also questioned Vajpayee's reading that his government had no option but to bow to the hijackers. But Mahajan is learnt to have fallen in line with Vajpayee and then External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh's argument that the government had no alternative.

Let's now cross over a decade and observe Advani's recent utterances on the hijacking.

In his latest book My Country My Life, Advani said he was unaware of the fact that his colleague Jaswant Singh, was being sent to Kandahar to ensure safe passage for three terrorists and the hijackers.

In an interview to a television channel days later, he said: 'I don't think I am answerable for that (sending the foreign minister with the terrorists), if the committee on security had taken a decision. I didn't know about it. I came to know when he (Jaswant) was going.'

Jaswant, recently expelled from the party for praising Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah in his recent book, dropped a bombshell, saying Advani was aware of the decision to release the terrorists. 

"How can they (terrorists) be released from prison without the home minister consenting and signing pieces of paper," he sought to know while, at the same time, holding Advani responsible for the failure to intercept the hijacked Indian Airlines aircraft in Amritsar.

"Why did the aircraft leave Amritsar? Once the aircraft left, the game was lost. Who was responsible for that," he sought to know.

Then came the salvo from ten national security advisor Brajesh Mishra who said that the former home minister was part of the NDA government's decision to release three terrorists and to send Jaswant to Kandahar to secure the hostages' release.

"The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security which has, you know, five members -- prime minister, home minister, finance minister, external affairs minister and defence minister.

"Once those demands were whittled down to three terrorists and no money and no interred remains (of some terrorist), then there was a unanimous decision of the CCS that in order to save the lives of 160 plus hostages and the aircraft crew, it made sense to release these three terrorists and get the hostages back," Mishra told Karan Thapar on CNN-IBN television channel on August 27.

Mishra, who is considered close to Vajpayee, said Advani was also aware of the decision to send Jaswant to Kandahar.

"Again the CCS met and Jaswant Singh proposed that he would go to Kandahar to bring back the hostages and he explained that the Indian representatives who were negotiating in Kandahar -- diplomats, IB, RAW agents -- they had suggested that somebody should be there to take care of any last minute complications. This he informed the CCS and they agreed to send (him)," Mishra said.

When asked again if this was an unanimous decision, Mishra replied in the affirmative. On whether Advani was a party to the decision, he said yes.

"Three members of CCS, George Fernandes (then defence minister), Jaswant and Yashwant Sinha (finance minister) have already said this," Mishra added.

The same day, Yashwant Sinha backed Mishra's statement.

Confirming that Advani was present at the meeting of the CCS on December 31, 1999, Sinha said: "The truth should be spoken. Advani must come out and clarify events. The CCS minutes of that day need to be examined for clarification. I completely back Brajesh Mishra on Advani. IC-814 is a matter of recent history, not a party matter."

"Advani knew all about the IC-814 hijacking. Advani agreed to send the plane to Kandahar to free the hostages. The terrorists had threatened to kill all the 160 passengers onboard. Advani knew that Jaswant (Singh) was on the plane with the terrorists. It was one of the most difficult decisions we took," said Mishra.

In a nutshell, the image of Advani, who was the BJP's prime ministerial candidate in the Lok Sabha election, has taken a beating. But, it has hit the saffron party more. It appears more divided than ever. It's imperative for India's main opposition party to set its house before the assembly polls in Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh slated for October.