Hashim Qureshi
Hashim Qureshi (born 1 October 1953 in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir) is a pro-independence Kashmiri separatist leader and one of the founding members of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and is now the Chairman of Jammu Kashmir Democratic Liberation Party (JKDLP), one of the main separatist Kashmiri political organisations which strives to find a political solution to the Kashmir issue through peaceful and political activities.
Birth and childhood
Born in the Nowhatta locality of Srinagar to Mohammad Khaleel Qureshi and Saeeda Begum, Hashim Qureshi comes from a high-class family. He studied at Islamia School, Srinagar. During a trip to Pakistan for his sister's wedding, he met Maqbool Bhat in 1969 in Peshawar and joined his JKNLF.
Ganga hijacking
Maqbool Bhat was the founding father of Kashmir's separatist movement and he wanted to highlight the Kashmir issue internationally. He masterminded the idea of a hijacking. He chose Hashim Qureshi for the hijacking, who along with his cousin Ashraf Qureshi hijacked an Indian Airlines plane on 30 January 1971 (Ganga) en route from Srinagar to Jammu and brought the plane to Lahore, Pakistan. Hashim Qureshi was 17 years old. The Indian Airlines flight was carrying 30 people including crew members. After landing at Lahore Airport, the hijackers demanded the release of about two dozen political prisoners of the JKNLF in Indian prisons, political asylum in Pakistan and a guarantee from the Indian government that their relatives in Srinagar would not be hurt in any way.