LAHORE: The two Kashmiri freedom fighters Mr. Qureshi Mohammad Hashim and Mr. Mohammad Ashraf Qureshi, who hijacked the Indian plane yesterday [Jan 30], described their daring performance as a humble beginning of their struggle for liberation of Kashmir and added that this would be followed by operations more dangerous and spectacular.

Talking to newsmen from the cockpit of the hijacked plane, they said their main aim was to liberate Jammu and Kashmir from the clutches of the Indian Army. Their immediate demand was that India should release all their comrades who had been arrested during the last four years.

The other hijacker, Mr Qureshi Mohammad Hashim, said India should learn a lesson from the hijacking incident and should meet the demands of the Kashmiri people. So far the people of occupied Kashmir had made peaceful efforts for getting their demands accepted but India had turned a deaf ear to their demands. They have, however, started a violent struggle because India was subjecting them to oppression.

He said the people of Kashmir would soon show to the whole world that they could do without outside help. The world, he said, would be stunned by their performance. …

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2021