Attari-Wagah Border: Captured Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Abhinandan Varthaman
returned to India at 9.20 pm on Friday, after nearly 60 hours in Pakistan’s
captivity. The pilot was smiling and had a black eye as he crossed into India
through the Attari-Wagah border, hours later than expected.
Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was shot down on Wednesday in a dogfight
with Pakistani aircraft and captured. His first words were “it is good to be
back in my country”, an official told reporters.
“He will be taken for a detailed medical checkup. The officer has had to eject
from a plane which would have put his body under immense strain,” said Air Vice
Marshal RGK Kapoor, reading out a short statement and refusing to take
questions.
As Abhinandan Varthaman’s homecoming was delayed, “documentation” was cited as
the hold-up. But the Press Trust of India quoted sources as saying the handover
was delayed as he was forced to record a statement on camera by Pakistani
authorities before he was allowed to cross the border.
The pilot, who inspired many hashtags on social media, finally appeared on the
Pakistani side of the Attari-Wagah crossing around 9.15 pm. He was whisked away
by Indian officials.
By the time he crossed over, a crowd that had waited for hours holding flags,
dancing and cheering, had thinned.
To restrict the crowds, an elaborate flag-lowering ceremony at the Wagah
crossing between Indian and Pakistani soldiers, which draws thousands of
spectators on both sides, had been cancelled.
The government wanted to avoid frenzy around the pilot, for many a symbol of
hope and the easing of tension between India and Pakistan after their biggest
standoff in years. New Delhi had asked for permission to send a special IAF
flight to bring back the captured IAF pilot from Islamabad, say sources, but
Pakistan rejected the request.
Images of the pilot’s capture and questioning, circulated from Pakistani
accounts, left millions of Indians stricken and worried. The 38-year-old was
blind-folded, his eyes bleeding over his handlebar moustache and his hands tied
behind his back. A video showed him dragged from a pond, surrounded by locals.
The alarming videos were taken off as Pakistan was accused of violating the
Geneva Convention.
A video later showed Abhinandan Varthaman sipping tea, his eyes swollen. He
calmly answered questions, refusing to speak on his mission while praising his
treatment by the Pakistan Army.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s announcement that he would be released
helped lower the temperature after rapid escalation this week.
The announcement marked a dramatic shift in mood after the two countries engaged
in an aerial clash for the first time in nearly 50 years on Wednesday.
World leaders had urged both countries to step back as hostilities peaked over
the past few days as India sent fighter planes to strike a terror training camp
in Pakistan and Islamabad tried to target Indian military installations in
response.
The confrontation erupted in the days following the February 14 Pulwama attack
by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed, in which over 40 soldiers were
killed. India’s air strikes on Tuesday targeted a huge Jaish training facility
in Pakistan’s Balakot, around 80 km from the Line of Control.
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