LONDON: Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was released by Pakistan in a “gesture of peace” through the Wagah-Attari joint check-post on Friday, two days after he was captured across the Line of Control after shooting down a Pakistan Air Force F-16 jet.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced on Thursday that the pilot would be freed on Friday after New Delhi sought his unconditional, immediate and unharmed release signalling a de-escalation in the spiralling tension with New Delhi.
Wing Commander Abhinandan was brought by Pakistani authorities from Rawalpindi to Lahore and handed over first to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) under rules of the Geneva Convention before being brought to the check-post to return home.
On the Indian side of the border, turbaned Indian policemen lined the road as a group of cheering Indian residents from the area waved India’s national flag and held up a huge garland of flowers to welcome him back.
