PIA Flight 544
Encyclopedia
Pakistan International Airlines
Pakistan International Airlines Corporation commonly known as PIA, is the flag carrier airline of Pakistan. The airline has its head office on the grounds of Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. and operates scheduled services to 24 domestic destinations and 38 international destinations in 27...
Fokker F27
Fokker F27
The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker.-Design and development:Design of the Fokker F27 started in the 1950s as a replacement to the successful Douglas DC-3 airliner...
, was hijacked on May 25, 1998, shortly after it took off from Gwadar International Airport
Gwadar International Airport
Gwadar International Airport is a domestic and international airport situated 9 miles north of the city centre of Gwadar, in the Balochistan province of Pakistan.-History:...
, by three armed men belonging to Baloch Students Organization
Baloch Students Organization
The Baloch Students Organization, or BSO was founded in 26 November 1967 as nationalist student organization in Pakistani part of occupied Balochistan. The main objectives of BSO were to organize and educate Baloch youth politically for the liberation of Balochistan.It this time BSO is divided into...
(BSO). The aircraft, with 33 passengers and 5 crew members aboard, had just arrived from Gwadar International Airport, Baluchistan,and was sat to land in Hyderabad Airport, Sindh. The Army
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
's SSG's Haideri Company, 7th Commando Zarrar Battalion, SSG Division, accompanied with elite members of Army Rangers stormed the aircraft, while the Pakistan Police surrounded the plane. The operation concluded with all three hijackers arrested and sentenced to death by Pakistan, with no human casualties.
Hijacking of PIA Aircraft
The incident began while the aircraft was flying, carrying 33 passengers with 5 crew members abroad. The Karachi-bound PIA Fokker AircraftFokker F27
The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker.-Design and development:Design of the Fokker F27 started in the 1950s as a replacement to the successful Douglas DC-3 airliner...
, Flight PK-554, was hijacked shortly after it took off from Gwadar at 5:35pm on Sunday. The hijackers forced the pilot to enter India from anywhere, while the pilot reached the permission from the Indian Government. The Pakistan Air Force
Pakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...
had traced the pilot's permission, and soon, PAF fighter jets, F-16 Fighting Falcon
F-16 Fighting Falcon
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
s of No. 11 Squadron Arrows, had intercepted the aircraft and forced to land in Hyderabad, Sindh.
Hijacker's Demands
The hijackers had initially asked the pilot to veer the plane towards New DelhiNew Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
. But, the pilot refused to head towards Delhi on the pretext of fuel shortage and the PAF jets also had intercepted the aircraft as well. The drama started when the PIA Pilot called Hyderabad Airport General Manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
after being hijacked. According to the sources, the pilot was in his senses and his message addresses Hyderabad Airport as Bhoj airport. His decision led to believed the hijackers that they were in Bhoj, India, as he had heard the hijackers talking about maps of Bhoj. The airport general manager responded by saying that he was at Bhoj and waiting for the flight. This communication ensured the hijackers that the plane had crossed into India.
Hijackers
The three hijackers were identified as Sama, Sabih and Saleh, all Iranian-Baluchis. They were traveling under the names of Jamal Hussain, Anwer Hussain and Ghulam Hussain.The Siege of Flight 544
The plane landed on Hyderabad airport at late night, and the airport manger had switched off the lights and markings of Hyderabad. Later in the late night, the hijackers released flight engineerFlight engineer
Flight engineers work in three types of aircraft: fixed-wing , rotary wing , and space flight .As airplanes became even larger requiring more engines and complex systems to operate, the workload on the two pilots became excessive during certain critical parts of the flight regime, notably takeoffs...
Sajjad Chaudhry to talk to the authorities
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...
to refuel the plane for onward journey to New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
, India. The hijacking drama of the PIA Fokker flight PK-554 came to an end after seven hours of continuous negotiations led by senior officials of Pakistan Police. The officials that included Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Hyderabad Akhtar Gorchani, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Hyderabad Dr. Usman Anwar, Deputy Commissioner
Deputy Commissioner
A deputy commissioner is a police or administrative official in many different countries.-Australia:In all Australian police forces, deputy commissioner is the rank directly below that of commissioner and senior to the rank of assistant commissioner except in the New South Wales Police Force, where...
(DC) Sohail Shah and Army Rangers Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Aamir Ahmad, at 3 am on Monday . The hijackers' demand for food and water and fuel for the aircraft.
Preparation for the Attack
The entire airport was cordoned off by Army personnelPakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
, the elite commandos belonging to Haideri Company, 7th Commando Zarrar Battalion, SSG Division had been put on alert for a possible storming of the plane. All airport lights had been switched off and the road links to airport were sealed. In order to deliver water and food Pakistan police's SSP and ASP, who were senior police officers, were first to volunteered and thus police managed to reach the plane, though unarmed.
While the officers stayed in the plane to distract the hijackers, the Army Rangers and Special Service Group (SSG) managed to prepare for the mission. In mean time, the officers spoke Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
to each other and convinced the hijackers that the officers are Indian nationals. As the hijackers had been given to understand that they were at some Indian airport. By volunteering they had risked their lives. The two hijackers had identified themselves as Sabir and Shabbir who had come out with hand bombs tied on their bodies. The police officers, in order to buy time and earn good will, told the hijackers that the Pakistani embassy people had been summoned to talk to them but, at the same time insisted that they should not hurt the passengers and let the women and children go.
Final Assault
The concluding part of the drama started when the hijackers allowed the women, two infants and a child to disembark following negotiations with the ASP, Dr. Usman Anwar, who met them as "Assistant Airport Manager" Ram and SSP Hyderabad, Akhtar Gorchani posing himself as Ashok, Manager Bhoj Airport. Deputy Commissioner, Sohail Akbar Shah, joined the team as DC Rajhastan and communicated with the remaining officers in Hindi language. The officers had successfully evacuated the women and children from the aircraft while the officers had remained in the plane. Meanwhile, Pakistan Army had assigned the mission of Haideri Company, 7th Commando Zarrar Battalion, SSG Division, led by Major Tariq Ahmad Anees and Major Aamir Saleem of the Army Rangers Anti-Terrorist CompanyPakistan Rangers
The Pakistan Rangers are part of the Paramilitary forces of Pakistan, and consists of members of the Pakistan Army under the direct control of the Ministry of the Interior of the Pakistan Government. The Rangers are an internal security force with the prime objective to provide and maintain...
(RATC), codename "Commando Operation". By the midnight, the elite members of Army Rangers and SSG division had arrived on the scene. The Army Rangers and SSG divisions had began to launched the full-scale operation to retrieved the terrorists. The Pakistan police and army vehicles were parked in front of the aircraft apparently to thwart it from flying again. And, the members of elite Pakistan Police Commandos had taken their positions. The SSG division had stormed the plane, penetrating in the plane from the front and the back doors of the aircraft. The Deputy Commissioner of Police had said Alla ho Akbar (God is great) simultaneously, when the SSG division and Army Rangers had stormed the plane. Shocked by the slogan, the one of the hijacker tried to shoot the Deputy Commissioner but the it was missed, and the hijacker mistakenly fired at one of his member. The whole operation ended in less than two minutes but it succeeded after the seven hours. All three hijackers were arrested by the SSG and Army Rangers and were rushed to Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
where they were handed over to the Pakistan Police.
Investigation
The hijackers were said to be carrying small weapons - pistols or revolvers, although they showed some packets which they claimed were high intensity explosives. The interrogations revealed that the Baloch hijackers were opposed to any nuclear testChagai-I
The Chagai-I was a codename referring to the five underground nuclear tests conducted by Pakistan at 15:15hrs in 28th May of 1998. It was named Chagai-I, as the tests were conducted in the Chagai District...
in their native Balochistan province following the recent Indian nuclear nuclear testing
Pokhran-II
Pokharan-II refers to test explosions of five nuclear devices, three on 11 May and two on 13 May 1998, conducted by India at the Pokhran test range. These nuclear tests resulted in a variety of sanctions against India by a number of major states....
. It was later revealed that hijackers had demanded refuelling to proceed to New Delhi and a categorical assurance that no nuclear explosion
Nuclear explosion
A nuclear explosion occurs as a result of the rapid release of energy from an intentionally high-speed nuclear reaction. The driving reaction may be nuclear fission, nuclear fusion or a multistage cascading combination of the two, though to date all fusion based weapons have used a fission device...
would be carried out in Balochistan province. The interrogation reports further said that the hijackers were also annoyed that no help was extended to the people of Makran during floods. During the siege, the Colonel Commandant
Colonel Commandant
Colonel Commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels...
of V Corps
V Corps (Pakistan)
The V Corps, also known as Victory Corps, is an administrative corps of Pakistan Army assigned in Karachi, Sindh Province of Pakistan. The V Corps is the only corps that is stationed in the Sindh Province, while the II Strike Corps and the IV Corps are both stationed in Punjab Province...
, Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, and IG Police were present at the airport.
Aftermath
The Sindh GovernorGovernor of Sindh
The Governor of Sindh is the appointed Head of State of the provincial government in Sindh, Pakistan. The governor is designated by the Prime Minister and is normally regarded a ceremonial post...
Lieutenant-General (retired) Moinuddin Haider
Moinuddin Haider
Moinuddin Haider, HI is a retired lieutenant general of the Pakistan Army, who after retirement served as the Governor of Sindh and then as the Interior Minister of Pakistan.-Army career:...
remained in constant touch with the authorities throughout the siege. Following a week, he honoured the Sindh Police officers
Sindh Police
-History:On the pattern of the colonial Irish constabulary, Sir Charles Napier established a police system in Sindh in 1843. The British Army Officers closely supervised and controlled forces which were resultantly more disciplined, efficient and not corrupt...
with highest honours and gallantry awards. The hijackers were, in 1998, convicted under 402-B (hijacking code defined in Pakistani law) and were given the death penalty in 1999.
Victims
The crew members on board the aircraft were:- PilotPilot in commandThe pilot in command of an aircraft is the person aboard the aircraft who is ultimately responsible for its operation and safety during flight. This would be the "captain" in a typical two- or three-pilot flight crew, or "pilot" if there is only one certified and qualified pilot at the controls of...
Captain Uzair Khan - First Officer M. Faisal
- Air hostessAir Hostess"Air Hostess" is a song by the British pop trio Busted. Composed by the band with Tom Fletcher of McFly, it was released as the third single from their second album A Present for Everyone in June 2004, reaching #2 on the UK Singles Chart.-Background:...
Khalida Afridi - Flight attendantFlight attendantFlight attendants or cabin crew are members of an aircrew employed by airlines primarily to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers aboard commercial flights, on select business jet aircraft, and on some military aircraft.-History:The role of a flight attendant derives from that of similar...
Asma Irani - Flight engineerFlight engineerFlight engineers work in three types of aircraft: fixed-wing , rotary wing , and space flight .As airplanes became even larger requiring more engines and complex systems to operate, the workload on the two pilots became excessive during certain critical parts of the flight regime, notably takeoffs...
Syed Sajjad Chaudhry.
Pakistan Police
- Senior Superintendent of Police Akhtar Gorchani (Now Deputy Inspector General (DIG))but the Government at that time did not gave him QUAID E AZAM POLICE MEDAL.
- Assistant Superintendent of Police Dr. Usman Anwar (Now SSP, awarded Quaid e Azam Police Medal for gallantry for this episode later)
Civil Officers
Deputy CommissionerCommissioner
Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....
(DC) Sohail Shah (disguised himself as DC Rajasthan) (decorated by citizens of Hyderabad)
Army Officers
- Major Aamir (now Colonel) (decorated with Sitara-e-Jurrat, Army gallantary award)
- Major Tariq Ahmad Anees (now Colonel) (decorated with Sitara-e-Jurrat, Army gallantary award)
External links
Pakistan°N date=July 2009°W