Live: Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman Back In India
Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman will be returned by Pakistan authorities at Wagah border today.
IAF Pilot Abhinandan Returns To India
Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has returned back to India, two days since he was captured by the Pakistan army. Varthaman was handed over to Indian officials at the Attari-Wagah border a few minutes earlier.
Air Vice Marshal R.G.K. Kapoor read out a prepared statement after receiving Varthaman.
Wing Commander Abhinandan has just been handed over to us. As per standard operating procedure of the Indian Air Force he will now be taken for a detailed medical check-up. This check-up is mandated particularly as the officer has had to eject from an aeroplane which would’ve put his entire body under great stress. IAF is happy to have Abhinandan back.Indian Air Force Statement
Varthaman is back in India but the question of where India and Pakistan go from here still remains.
BloombergQuint posed this question to Ian Bremmer, Sameer Patil, and Vipin Narang. Here’s what the geopolitics and strategic affairs experts had to say.
Visuals Of Abhinandan Returning To India
Handover Expected At 9PM: ANI Sources
Abhinandan Leaves For Wagah Border
Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman left for the Wagah Border in a convoy of vehicles, two days after he was captured. Pakistani officials will hand over him to the Indian officials at the Attari-Wagah Border crossing here, according to wire agency PTI.
IAF To Receive Abhinandan At Wagah Border
Wing Commander Abhinandan To Return Soon
Former Army Chief Bikram Singh Says Balakot Strike Was A Change In India's Stance
Former Army Chief Bikram Singh has said that the Balakot strike marks a change in how India deals with terrorism. The message has gone across to Pakistan that India won't accept any more “nonsense”, Singh told BloombergQuint.
Singh added that India shouldn't get carried away by Pakistan's gesture of returning Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan.
Here are key highlights from his interview:
- All elements of national power must be used to maintain the pressure on Pakistan.
- Present government is committed to putting an end to what Pakistan is doing.
- Even on the domestic front, the actions taken by the Home Minister are praiseworthy.
- Asymmetric enemies are far stronger than traditional enemies, since they can merge with the public.
- Taking out these terrorist leaders through surgical operations may not do the job.
- When military does well, governments have to take credit for it. Didn't Congress take credit for 1971?
- But we should refrain from politicising every event related to the military.
Modi Says 'Few Parties' Suspecting India's Fight Against Terror
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that “a few parties” have started hating India even when the entire nation is supporting the armed forces. “The world is supporting India’s fight against terror but a few parties suspect our fight against terror,” Modi said at a rally in Tamil Nadu.
Telling opposition parties to stop weakening India with their statements and strengthen their own own politics, the prime minister said, “Modi will come and go, India will remain”. He did not name any party.
Modi added that India will no longer be “helpless” in the face of terrorism saying that the country will payback terrorist with “interest”.
Pakistan Needs To Do A Lot More: VK Singh
Union minister and former Army chief VK Singh on Friday said he was happy that Pakistan was releasing Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, but the neighbouring country needs to do a "lot more".
The Centre is taking "appropriate measures" and "such steps are not revealed", the minister of state for External Affairs told reporters. He was asked about the Centre's next step amid the escalating tension between India and Pakistan.
A lot of things are done in line with the Geneva Convention. We are happy that he is being released. If they call it a gesture of peace, we are happy for that too, but they need to do a lot more.VK Singh, MoS, External Affairs
(Source: PTI)
Retreat Ceremony At Wagah Border Cancelled
The daily retreat ceremony held at the Attari-Wagah border has been cancelled for Friday, PTI reported citing an unnamed Indian Border Security Force official.
The martial ceremony has been called off due to administrative requirements in the wake of Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman's release post noon at this frontier, the official said.
The public will not be allowed in the ceremony area that is located in the Attari of Punjab along the India-Pakistan border, the BSF official added.
Pakistan Ignores India's Request To Sent Back IAF Pilot By Air
Hours after Pakistan announced its decision to release Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, India conveyed to Islamabad that it wants him to be sent back via aerial route and not through the Wagah land border, official sources told PTI.
However, late in the night, Pakistan communicated to India that he will be returned through the Attari-Wagah border.
The Indian defence establishment was also mulling over sending a special aircraft to Pakistan to bring back Wing Commander Varthaman who was captured by Pakistan during an aerial combat on Wednesday.
Varthaman will now return home through the Wagah border which is around 25 km from Lahore in Pakistan.
(Source: PTI)
Enough Proof That Pakistan Used F-16 Aircraft, Say Armed Forces
Indian Armed Forces representatives said on Thursday that they had proof that Pakistan used an F-16 aircraft to violate Indian airspace in the Feb. 28 operation. This was after Pakistan denied the claim that India had downed one Pakistani F-16 fighter jet, saying that they did not use the said aircraft in yesterday's operation.
Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor said:
- There is enough evidence to show that Pakistan used F-16s in the mission through their electronic signatures.
- Parts of AMRAAM air-to-air missile which is carried only on the Pakistani F-16s were recovered east of Rajouri within the Indian territory.
The Feb. 14 Attack
The latest standoff started on Tuesday, after India said its jets launched airstrikes to destroy insurgent bases inside Pakistan. The target was a terror training camp run by the Jaish-e-Mohammed, which claimed responsibility for the Feb. 14 suicide car bombing in Kashmir that killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel.
Following the bombing of the JeM training camp, the Pakistan Air Force attempted a retaliatory strike on Indian military installations. Indian armed forces said they foiled the attack and shot down a Pakistani F-16 jet. India lost a MiG 21 aircraft in the operation, and the pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was captured by Pakistan.
Pakistan To Handover Pilot At Wagah Border Post
Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who is in Pakistan’s custody, is expected to be returned this afternoon.
Pakistani officials will hand over the captured pilot to India at the Wagah border post between the two nations on Friday afternoon, Geo television channel reported.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday announced that Varthaman will be released on Friday as "peace gesture".