Zahoor Ibrahim, one of the terrorists who hijacked the Indian Airlines plane IC-814, is reported. According to media reports, two unidentified assailants shot Zahoor inside a furniture shop in Karachi’s Akbar Colony. Zahoor Ibrahim was living in Karachi with the identity of Zahoor Zahid Akhund.
Zahoor Ibrahim, who was involved in the Kandahar plane hijack, had opened a Crescent furniture shop in Karachi. He lived here as a merchant named Zahoor Zahid Akhund. According to the CCTV footage of the incident, two bike-borne miscreants had conducted recce of the area before the incident. At the same time, he used a helmet and mask to hide his identity.
Mistry Zahoor Ibrahim along with four other terrorists hijacked Indian Airlines plane IC-814 on 24 December 1999. When this plane was on its way from Kathmandu to Delhi, then the terrorists hijacked it. After this the plane was taken to Kandahar, Afghanistan. At that time there was a rule of Taliban in Afghanistan and these terrorists got full protection.
According to officials, it was Zahoor Ibrahim who stabbed to death an Indian named Rupin Katyal after the plane hijacked. The kidnapping continued for seven days in which the passengers were taken hostage. Terrorists like Masood Azhar, Mushtaq Ahmed and Umar Saeed Sheikh had to be released instead of releasing the passengers safely.
The mastermind of the Kandahar plane hijack was top Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Yusuf Azhar alias Mohammad Salim. Whom Yusuf Azhar was killed in the Balakot air strike of February 2019. According to intelligence agencies, Yusuf Azhar was directly and indirectly involved in many terrorist attacks in the country.
It has been said in several media reports that Zahoor Ibrahim was hiding for many years after the Kandahar incident. At the same time, many terrorists, including the brother of Masood Azhar, the chief of the terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammed, attended his funeral after his death. Also, the beach market in Karachi has created a stir after such a big incident.