Why Azhar was released by BJP Govt. in 1999
There were valid and credible reasons for releasing Masood Azhar in 1999. Masood was released on humanitarian ground, to save life of many Indians.Those who are now questioning the decision of the then BJP government headed by Atal Behari Vajpayee forget the fact that there were 176 passengers on board the flight IC 814 of the Indian Airlines when it was hijacked soon after taking off from Kaathmandu for Delhi on December 24, 1999.
Life of passengers including children and women were at risk. If the then government was to be faulted it was its indecision to block the runway in Amritsar when the hijacked plane landed here for refueling. It was there for 45 minutes. It was easy for the administration to prevent the aircraft from taking off from India by blocking the runway. This would have ...