Claim
In December 1999 Pakistan hijacked flight IC-814 and India was forced to release terrorists.
“फिर उसी साल 1999 में, पाकिस्तान ने IC814 का अपहरण कर लिया और हमें आतंकवादियों को रिहा करना पड़ा। यह घटना दिसंबर 1999 में घटी थी।”▶ Watch source segment
Rationale
The core facts are correct: IC-814 was hijacked on 24 December 1999 and India released three jailed terrorists on 31 December 1999 to free the hostages. The hijackers were Pakistani nationals belonging to the Pakistan-based Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, and India officially attributed the operation to Pakistan-backed actors; the anchor's shorthand 'Pakistan hijacked' reflects this attribution to Pakistani perpetrators, though it was a militant group rather than a declared act of the Pakistani state. The date and the forced release of terrorists are accurately stated.
Evidence
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Airlines_Flight_814 Indian Airlines flight IC-814 was hijacked on 24 December 1999 en route Kathmandu–Delhi and taken to Kandahar; on 31 December 1999 India released three jailed militants (Masood Azhar, Omar Saeed Sheikh, Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar) in exchange for the hostages. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.britannica.com/event/hijacking-of-IC-814 Confirms the December 1999 hijacking by five armed Pakistani nationals linked to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and India's release of three militants including Masood Azhar to end the crisis. ✗ unreachable · HTTP 403
- https://theprint.in/india/where-are-the-3-terrorists-who-were-swapped-for-170-passengers-of-hijacked-ic-814/339781/ Details the three terrorists India swapped for the IC-814 passengers, corroborating that India was compelled to release them. ✓ reachable · archived