Terrorists, backed by Pakistan, boldly attack the Indian Parliament building. The Indian army assigns this matter to Colonel Ranvir Singh Ranawat, who along with his men, apprehends and arrests the ring-leader Baba Zaheer Khan. The Colonel takes one of his subordinates, Jaydev Malhotra to task, as nine soldiers were killed due to his negligence and asks him to resign. A terrorist group, Al-Tahir, recruits a group of men to try to evacuate their leader Baba Zaheer from Army prison, albeit in vain as their plans are thwarted by Jaydev, who is now an Assistant Commissioner of Police in the Anti-Terrorist Squad in Mumbai city. ACP Jaydev summons a usual suspect named Fareed, who is a Garage owner for the vehicles recovered from the terrorists, being sold from his garage. Fareed is contracted by a college Professor to provide shelter, food, arms and other necessities to the new recruits of Al-Tahir militant group whose sole mission is to hijack a civilian plane, take it to Pakistan administered Kashmir, and then negotiate a deal with the Indian Government to release their leader Baba Zaheer in lieu of the lives of all 107 on-board passengers. This group of militants discover that Fareed's cover has been blown and Mumbai ATS is keeping an eye on Fareed, which could compromise their mission. Hence, the leader of their group murders Fareed in the presence of the Professor, and throws his dead body into the sea. The Professor bribes two corrupt officials of the Mumbai Airport to sneak in Guns inside the flight as they never go through the security checks. In a cross-fire between Mumbai ATS, ACP Jaydev Malhotra and Col. Ranveer Singh, one of the militants' gets killed but the rest manage to make it to the airport and board the flight. On the run from the Police, this group hijacks an Indian Airlines plane, en route from Mumbai to Kathmandu, with Jaydev's fianceè, Nandini, an In-Flight Supervisor, and Captain Basheer Ali, ACP Jaydev's foster father on board. The plane, with 107 passengers and crew, is re-routed to Kazan in Pakistan-administered Kashmir where they are met with more armed terrorists as well as the Pakistani army. Together, they demand the release of Baba Zaheer in exchange for the lives of the passengers. ACP Jaydev soon recollects from his last conversation over the phone, with his fianceè, Nandini that one of the two Airport Ground-staff did not leave the flight till the last moment of its departure. Jaydev apprehends him to which he confesses of sneaking in guns and other ammunition into the flight. The Indian Government makes a failed attempt to convince the Pakistani Ambassador to either send Pakistani Army or let the Indian Army enter Pakistan-controlled Kashmir to rescue the civilians on board the flight. The Army and the Indian police collaborate and both Ranvir and Jaydev are asked to work together. Ranvir is weary of Jaydev's capabilities, since Jaydev is investigating Ranvir and his men — who are suspected of supplying arms and ammunitions to terrorists and Pakistanis. The duo nevertheless work out a plan to free the hostages and apprehend the terrorists. What they do not know is that their plan has already been compromised, and they may well be headed to their respective deaths. After a major gun-battle, Ranvir and Jaydev manage to capture Baba Zaheer again only to throw him out of a flying Army helicopter, after the flight has taken off from Kazaan in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The plot of Zameen is based upon the rescue mission taken by the IDF in 1976 at Entebbe, Uganda, where the IDF rescued 102 hostages taken by the PLFP and the West German group Revolutionary Cells.
