Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan yesterday said he would release a captured Indian Air Force pilot today as a gesture of peace that could help de-escalate a tense military confrontation between the two nations.
“We have captured a pilot of India. As a gesture of peace we are going to release him to India tomorrow,” Khan said. “I did try yesterday to talk to [Indian Prime Minister] Narendra Modi only to de-escalate this situation, but this de-escalation effort should not be considered as weakness.”
He told lawmakers in parliament that he hoped the international community would play its part in de-escalating tensions with India.
Photo: AP
The Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called for the pilot’s “immediate and safe return,” and said earlier yesterday that it was not willing to negotiate.
It was unclear whether the release of the pilot, Indian Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, would defuse tensions entirely.
New Delhi has insisted it would not engage in talks with Islamabad unless the country takes “immediate and verifiable action” against terrorism.
Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar did not immediately respond to a text and a telephone call after Khan’s announcement.
Pakistan arrested Varthaman after aircraft from the two nations clashed in the disputed region of Kashmir in the worst military stand-off in decades, leading to major world powers, including China, the US and the UN, urging restraint.
It sparked fears of India and Pakistan — who have fought two wars and countless deadly skirmishes over Kashmir — entering a cycle of retaliation and counterattacks that could spiral out of control.
Abhinandan, who rapidly attained hero status in his own country, has become the face of the escalating conflict.
Earlier yesterday Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Mohammad Faisal told reporters that the pilot “is with us, he is safe and in good condition.”
Faisal said Abhinandan had “some mishap before our officers reached there, because he was caught by the public,” but stressed his well-being.
“We will decide in a day or two whether he will be given the status of POW or else,” he added.
He also said the Saudi Arabian foreign minister was expected to visit Islamabad with a special message from Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who visited Pakistan and India last month.
A report in Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper yesterday quoted witnesses who said Abhinandan fought off angry villagers with a pistol at the crash site and tried to swallow and destroy maps and documents in his possession before he was taken into custody.
A viral video purports to show Abhinandan being dragged and beaten by what appears to be a group of men as Pakistani soldiers intervene, shouting: “Stop, stop.”
However, it was a later video released by the Pakistani military, which showed the pilot sipping tea, his face swollen and sporting bruises, but otherwise collected and calm, that was most seized upon in India and Pakistan.
In it, he thanks the “thorough gentlemen” who rescued him from the mob and compliments the tea as “fantastic.”
It was unclear if he had been coerced to speak.
The video was aired widely on Pakistani television channels, but not broadcast in India.
Meanwhile, Modi yesterday used a video link address to party workers to urge Indians to unite “as the enemy seeks to destabilize India.”
“In the face of their objective, every Indian should stand as a wall, as a rock,” he said in his first remarks since the two countries claimed to have shot the other’s planes.
“The entire country is one today and standing with our soldiers. The world is looking at our collective will and we have faith in our forces’ capacity,” he said.
“India will live as one. India will work as one. India will grow as one. India will fight as one. India will win as one,” he added.
Additional reporting by AFP and Reuters
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