1971 Indian Airlines hijacking
On 30 January 1971, an Indian Airlines domestic Fokker F27, also named "Ganga", flying from Srinagar Airport to the Jammu-Satwari Airport, was hijacked by two Kashmiri separatists belonging to the National Liberation Front (NLF, the antecedent of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front). The hijackers were Hashim Qureshi and his cousin Ashraf Qureshi. The aircraft was flown to Lahore Airport in Pakistan where the passengers and the crew were released and the aircraft was burnt down.
The destroyed aircraft at Lahore Airport | |
| Hijacking | |
|---|---|
| Date | 30 January 1971 |
| Summary | Aircraft hijacking |
| Site | Lahore Airport, Pakistan 31°31′17″N 74°24′12″E |
| Aircraft type | Fokker F-27 Friendship 100 |
| Aircraft name | Ganga |
| Operator | Indian Airlines |
| Registration | VT-DMA |
| Flight origin | Srinagar Airport |
| Destination | Satwari Airport |
| Occupants | 32 |
| Passengers | 29 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Survivors | 32 (all) |
Ganga was one of the oldest aircraft in the Indian Airlines fleet and was already withdrawn from service but was re-inducted days before the hijacking.
India retaliated to the hijacking and subsequent burning by banning overflights of Pakistani aircraft over Indian territory. The ban, occurring in the run-up to the December 1971 war between the countries, had a significant impact on troop movement into the erstwhile East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. Pakistan reacted by charging the hijackers and other NLF militants with conspiracy. The crackdown severely weakened militant organisation. Subsequently, the leader of the movement, Amanullah Khan, moved to Britain, where he established a new organisation called the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front.