Pakistan International Airlines Flight 544, a Pakistan International Airlines Fokker F27, was hijacked on 25 May 1998, shortly after it took off from Gwadar International Airport, by three armed men belonging to Baloch Students Organization. The aircraft, with 33 passengers and 5 crew members aboard, had just arrived from Gwadar International Airport, Balochistan, and was set to land in Hyderabad Airport, Sindh. The hijackers demanded that the aircraft be flown to New Delhi, India. The Army's Special Service Group's Haideri Company, 7th Commando Zarrar Battalion, SSG Division, accompanied by members of the Pakistan Rangers, stormed the aircraft, while the Pakistan Police surrounded the plane. The operation concluded with all three hijackers arrested and sentenced to death by Pakistan, with no casualties. Hijacking of the aircraft The incident began while the aircraft was flying, carrying 33 passengers with 5 crew members abroad. The Karachi-bound PIA Fokker Aircraft, Flight PK-554, was hijacked shortly after it took off from Gwadar at 5:35pm on 25 May 1998. The hijackers forced the pilot to fly towards New Delhi, India. Hijacker's demands The hijackers had initially asked the pilot to veer the plane towards New Delhi. But, the pilot refused to head towards Delhi on the pretext of fuel shortage and Pakistan Air Force jets had intercepted the aircraft as well. The drama started when the PIA pilot, Captain Uzair Khan, called the Hyderabad Airport general manager after being hijacked. His message addressed Hyderabad Airport as Bhuj Airport, and led the hijackers to believe that they were in Bhuj, India, as he had heard the hijackers talking about maps of Bhuj. The Hyderabad airport staff started pretending to be from Bhuj airport and told the pilot that they were waiting for the plane to land. This communication assured the hijackers that the plane had crossed into India. Hijackers The three hijackers were identified as Shahsawar Baloch, Sabir Baloch and Shabir Baloch. They were traveling under the names of Jamal Hussain, Anwer Hussain and Ghulam Hussain. Timeline The siege of Flight 544 The plane landed at Hyderabad late at night. The airport manager had switched off the lights and markings of Hyderabad. Later in the night, the hijackers released flight engineer Sajjad Chaudhry to talk to the authorities to refuel the plane for an onward journey to New Delhi, India. The standoff came to an end after seven hours of continuous negotiations led by senior officials of