1981 Pakistan International Airlines hijacking
A Boeing 720 similar to the hijacked aircraft
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| Incident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 2 March 1981 |
| Summary | Hijacking |
| Site | en route |
| Passengers | 135 (inc. 3 terrorists) |
| Crew | 9 |
| Fatalities | 1 |
| Injuries (non-fatal) | 0 |
| Survivors | 143 |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 720 |
| Operator | Pakistan International Airlines |
| Registration | PK-326 |
| Flight origin | Karachi |
| Stopover | Kabul (1st diversion) |
| 1st stopover | Damascus (2nd diversion) |
| Destination | Peshawar |
In 1981, Al-Zulfiqar led by Murtaza Bhutto hijacked a Pakistan International Airlines flight en route to Peshawar from Karachi, and diverted it to Kabul in March 1981. The hijacking went on for thirteen days, during which Major Tariq Rahim was shot to death; the hijackers mistakenly believed Rahim to be the son of General Rahimuddin Khan.Tariq Rahim has been ADC with Mr. Bhutto and has been transferred to Foreign Service on the reference of Mr. Bhutto. He was very well known to the Bhutto Family but Murtaza felt he had deceived his father. Rahim was executed following Murtaza Bhutto's conferring with KHAD chief Mohammad Najibullah. The execution forced the Zia-ul-Haq regime to accept the demands of the hijackers, releasing dozens of Pakistan Peoples Party and other leftist political prisoners languishing in Pakistani jails.Major Tariq Rahim's Body was thrown from the Plane on the tarmac where he bled to death.
Al-Zulfiqar and PSF activist Salamullah Tipu along with three other PSF militants hijacked the plane. The plane was first forced to land at Kabul airport, and was then flown to Damascus. Though undertaken to ‘avenge Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s hanging by Zia’, the hijacking was at once condemned by the young co-chairperson of the PPP, Benazir Bhutto, who was languishing in a Karachi jail.
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