Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman returns to India
Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured by the Pakistani Army on Wednesday after his jet MiG 21 Bison, was shot down during a close combat with Pakistan’s F 16, returned to his homeland Friday night at around 9.20 pm.
The footage that was shown on television, displayed the return of the IAF pilot; crossing the Wagha-Attari check post at around the above time slot. He was dressed in white shirt, blue coat and grey trousers and was received in India by the BSF and IAF officers. Abhinandan was accompanied by JD Kurian from Pakistan side, surrounded by Pakistan Rangers up to the border gate.
Pakistan intentionally delayed his return and a ‘documentary’ was cited from their side as the hold-up.The Press Trust of India quoting some sources said that 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. Pakistan put out the video just before his release
In the video, he talks about his imprisonment, where he said that he entered the Pakistan’s airspace to find a target when his jet was shot down. In that video too, Abhinandan said that he had to eject himself out of the aircraft but drifted to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir where he was detained by the Pakistan Army. He further added that he was being treated well and that was ‘quite impressed’ by the Pakistani army officials. . The video had been edited heavily, probably to fit the Pakistani propaganda.
Earlier this week, a counter terror operation was carried out by the IAF jets in Pakistan destroying the Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in Balakot, 80 km from the Line of Control, after a suicide bomber sent by JeM killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir on February 14. The next day, Pakistan retaliated with a large air formation comprising 24 fighter jets. Abhinandan was in one of the MiG 21s that took on Pakistan jets and shot down one F-16. During this combat his plane was hit by an air to air missile and he evacuated himself and landed in POK, where he was taken into custody by the Pakistani Army.
