Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said the captured Indian pilot would be released on Friday as a “gesture of peace” with the Indian military saying they see it as “only a gesture which is in consonance with all Geneva conventions”.
“We are happy that our pilot who had fallen across the line of control and was in the custody of Pakistan is being released. We are extremely happy to have him back,” said Air Vice Marshall RGK Kapoor.
“We only see it as a gesture which is in consonance with all Geneva Conventions.”
Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was captured after his MiG 21 Bison aircraft was shot down following an aerial combat with a Pakistani fighter jet on Wednesday. India accused Pakistan of violating the Geneva Conventions after video emerged on social media of the Indian pilot showed him bloodied, blindfolded and his hands tied behind his back. Later that video was taken down and Pakistan released another video of Wing Cdr Varthaman sipping tea and saying he was being treated well.
Mr Khan said the decision to repatriate him to India was the first step towards talks.
"Out of our desire of peace, I announce that tomorrow, and as a first step towards opening negotiations, Pakistan will be releasing the Indian Air Force officer in our custody," said the prime minister during an address to a joint session of parliament in Islamabad.
Though the Indian military said it has met the objective of the airstrike carried out earlier this week inside Pakistan, it was prepared to respond if “provoked further”.
An Indian Army soldier stands guard at Raisina hills, the government seat of power, in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. Source: AAP
“Pakistan has targeted our military installations. They have escalated matters. If they provoke us any further, we are prepared for exigencies," Major General Surendra Singh Mahal of the Indian Army told reporters in New Delhi on Thursday.
He said the Indian Army was in a “heightened state of readiness”.
Pakistan on Wednesday claimed it’s fighter jets bombed “non-military targets” in Indian-administered Kashmir in response to India’s actions a day earlier. India termed Pakistan’s action an “unprovoked act of aggression”.
Indian Army Major General Surinder Singh Mahal (C): "As long as Pakistan continues to harbour terrorists, we will continue to target the terror camps." Source: AAP
India claimed its air raid at what it called a “terrorist training camp” in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan killed a “large number of terrorists” – a claim strongly refuted by the Pakistani side. While Pakistani military spokesperson Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said no one was killed, international news channel Al Jazeera reported that one person was injured.
Indian Air Force’s Air Vice Marshall Kapoor said the intended targets were hit.
“There’s fairly credible evidence with us that proves that there was damage to the camps and the weapons hit the target and they caused the damage that was intended. However, it will be premature to say what’s the number of casualties we were able to inflict,” AVM Kapoor said.
They also presented what they claim was part of an AIM-120 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile), claiming to have been recovered from inside Indian territory, to support India's claim of shooting down a Pakistani F-16 jet. Pakistan denies it used F-16 jets in the operation.
Officials show wreckage of missile recovered from Indian territory, allegedly fired by a Pakistani F-16 fighter jet violating Indian Airspace. Source: EPA
Pilot’s release today
People on both sides of the India-Pakistan border have hailed Pakistan’s decision to free Wing Commander Varthaman while others claim international pressure, including that of the US, was instrumental in securing this first step that could set the ball rolling for military de-escalation.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday said the country had been talking to both sides.
"We have been involved in trying to help them [India and Pakistan] stop and we have some reasonably decent news. I think hopefully that could be coming to an end, it has been going on for a long time," he said while addressing the media after the second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also spoke to leaders in India and Pakistan and said he was hopeful that the rising tensions will come down.
Australia, too, reiterated its call for both countries to exercise restraint and have direct dialogue.
Punjab CM wants to receive Wing Cdr Varthman
The chief minister of Indian Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh has requested India’s prime minister let him receive Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman when he is repatriated to India on Friday.
The chief minister, himself an ex-Indian army officer, welcomed the news and said it indeed was a goodwill gesture by Pakistan and not under compulsion due to the Geneva Convention that the pilot was being released.
"Geneva Convention doesn't say you have to release somebody," he told NDTV.
Mr Singh toured the border areas of Punjab to assess the security situation and said he hoped the return of Wing Cdr Varthaman would bring normalcy between the two countries.
