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{{Short description|Kidnapping of the daughter of the Minister of Home Affairs by the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}

In 1989, Rubaiya Sayeed, the daughter of the then Indian Home Minister [[Mufti Mohammad Sayeed]], was kidnapped by Kashmiri separatist militants in [[Srinagar]], the capital of [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]]. The kidnappers demanded the release of five jailed members of [[Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front]] (JKLF) in exchange for Sayeed's release.<ref name="TOI">{{cite news |date=2004-02-08 |title=14 yrs down, JKLF admits Rubaiya kidnap |newspaper=[[Times of India]] |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/484093.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180109123431/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/484093.cms |archive-date=9 January 2018 |accessdate=2007-04-28}}</ref> The Indian government headed by [[V. P. Singh]] of the [[Janata Dal]] party, with outside support from the [[BJP]], agreed to the demands and induced the state government to release the jailed militants.<ref>{{cite news |author=Praveen Swami |author-link=Praveen Swami |date=2002-11-09 |title=A man of many parts - and parties |work=The Frontline Magazine, Volume 19 - Issue 23 |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/cover-story/article30246743.ece |accessdate=2007-04-28}}
</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/20120912130050/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,959443,00.html World Notes INDIA], [[TIME]], 25 December 1989</ref> In 2004, the JKLF admitted to having carried out the kidnapping,<ref name="TOI" /> and the court case is ongoing. In July 2022, Rubaiya identified [[Yasin Malik]], one of the key leaders of JKLF at that time, as one of her kidnappers.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Prakash |first1=Priyali |title=Explained The 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of former minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/explained-the-1989-kidnapping-of-rubaiya-sayeed-daughter-of-former-minister-mufti-mohammad-sayeed/article65809700.ece?homepage=true |access-date=2022-08-27 |work=The Hindu |date=2022-08-26}}</ref>

== Rubaiya Sayeed ==

Rubaiya Sayeed, the third daughter of [[Mufti Mohammad Sayeed]] was then 23 years old, and a medical intern at Lal Ded Memorial Women's Hospital.

== Modus operandi ==

She was kidnapped at 3:45 p.m. on 8 December 1989, about 500 metres from her home at Nowgam when she was returning from the Lal Ded Memorial Women's Hospital in a local mini bus. Four people forced her out of the vehicle at gunpoint into a waiting Maruti car and disappeared. The kidnapping was done by J K Liberation Front run by Yasin Malik,.<ref name="rediff">[http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/dec/08blood1.htm The Rubaiya episode. Its impact] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070525190301/http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/dec/08blood1.htm|date=25 May 2007}}, [[Rediff.com]], 1999-12-08</ref>

== Demands of abductors and negotiations ==
Representatives of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front telephoned the local newspaper ''[[Kashmir Times]]'' at about 5:30 p.m., stating that their group's [[mujahideen]] had kidnapped Dr Rubaiya Sayeed, and that she would remain their hostage until the government released Sheikh Abdul Hameed, a JKLF "area commander" Ghulam Nabi Butt, younger brother of the convicted and hanged rebel [[Maqbool Butt]]; Noor Muhammad Kalwal; Muhammed Altaf; and [[Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/14/world/abducted-woman-freed-in-kashmir.html ABDUCTED WOMAN FREED IN KASHMIR] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625132454/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/14/world/abducted-woman-freed-in-kashmir.html |date=25 June 2018 }}, [[The New York Times]], 1989-12-14</ref>

The editor, Muhammad Sofi, phoned both the [[Minister of Home Affairs (India)|Home Minister]] and the government to pass on the news. The [[Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir|chief minister]] [[Farooq Abdullah]] cut short his holiday in [[London]] and returned to Delhi. Senior [[Intelligence Bureau (India)|IB]] and police officials, including [[Ved Marwah]], Director General of the National Security Guards, reached [[Srinagar]] before dawn the next day.

The negotiations opened through Zaffar Meraj of the ''Kashmir Times'', while Shabnam Lone, daughter of A.B. Ghani Lone and Maulvi Abbas Ansari of the Muslim United Front were tapped as possible channels. Later, a judge of the [[Allahabad High Court]], Moti Lal Bhat, entered the picture. A friend of Mufti, he began negotiating directly with the militants on behalf of the home minister.

At 3:30 a.m. on 13 December 1989, two Union Cabinet Ministers, [[Inder Kumar Gujral]] and [[Arif Mohammad Khan]], personally flew into Srinagar, believing that Farooq was coming in the way of a deal because Farooq held the view that abject surrender to the militants' demands would open the floodgates.

At 7:00 p.m. on 13 December 1989 Dr. Rubaiya Sayeed was set free, two hours after the government released the five jailed militants.<ref name="mufit-mohammad-sayeed-dark-hour">{{cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/mufti-saeed-s-dark-hour-militants-released-for-abducted-daughter/story-527VIWsrLi2F3kiQ1hTT4O.html | title=Mufti Sayeed’s dark hour: Militants released for abducted daughter | publisher=Hindustan Times | author= Harindar Baweja | location=India | date=2016-01-08 | accessdate=2021-07-23}}</ref> Thousands of young men gathered at [[Rajouri]] Kadal to take them out in a triumphant procession, but they quickly disappeared to their hideouts.

== Aftermath ==
Years later [[Farooq Abdullah]] claimed that his government was threatened with dismissal by the central government if the militants were not exchanged for Rubaiya.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20000215/nation.htm#3 Farooq toughens stand on autonomy]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525043542/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20000215/nation.htm#3 |date=25 May 2009 }}, [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]], 2000-02-15</ref> The kidnapping set the stage for heightened militancy in the state, and the mass support for militants could be clearly seen in the streets. Many say the abduction was the watershed in the Kashmir insurgency.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/15/world/kashmir-officials-under-attack-for-yielding-to-muslim-abductors.html Kashmir Officials Under Attack For Yielding to Muslim Abductors] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710043009/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/15/world/kashmir-officials-under-attack-for-yielding-to-muslim-abductors.html |date=10 July 2018 }}, [[The New York Times]], 1989-12-15</ref> Had the V P Singh government not buckled down, things would have been different," they say, "The JKLF would not have harmed Rubaiya due to public sentiment.<ref name=rediff/> In 1999 three JKLF militants Shoukat Ahmed Bakshi, Manzoor Ahmed Sofi, and Mohammad Iqbal Gandroo were granted bail after 9 years.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/1999/99feb01/j&k.htm#4 Rubaiya case accused get bail after 9 yrs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020224004/http://www.tribuneindia.com/1999/99feb01/j%26k.htm#4 |date=20 October 2012 }}, [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]], 1999-02-01</ref>

[[Yasin Malik]] is currently under trial for the kidnapping and exchange of five militants.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/tihar-jail-refuses-to-present-yasin-malik-before-court-in-iaf-officer-murder-case-cites-mha-instructions-1605046-2019-10-01|title=Tihar Jail refuses to present Yasin Malik before court in IAF officer murder case, cites MHA instructions|last=Bhat|first=Sunil|date=1 October 2019|website=India Today|language=en|access-date=2020-03-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/hc-shifts-rubaiya-abduction-case-against-yasin-malik-to-jammu/story-xkvSdJEEdVhRn8jM1Kc34O.html|title=HC shifts Rubaiya abduction case against Yasin Malik to Jammu|date=2019-03-15|website=Hindustan Times|language=en|access-date=2020-03-17}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Mufti Mohammad Sayeed]]
*[[Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book
| last = Akbar | first = M J
| title = Kashmir: behind the vale
| publisher = Roli Books
| isbn = 81-7436-250-9
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rubiya, Syed}}
[[Category:Hostage taking]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in India in 1989]]
[[Category:1989 crimes in India]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Kidnappings in India]]
[[Category:1980s in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir]]

Kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed - Revision history

Bot at 08:01, 27 August 2022