Just after Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that Abhinandan Varthaman, the captured Wing Commander of Indian Air Force, will be sent back to India on 1st March, as a “gesture of peace”, our PM Narendra Modi at Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology held at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi for felicitating scientists, was quoted saying, “Aap toh laboratories me zindagi guzarne vale log hai aur apme pehle ‘pilot project’ karne ki parampara hoti hai. Pilot project karne ke baad scalability hoti hai. Abhi abhi ek pilot project pura ho gaya. Abhi real karna hai, pehle toh practice thi”.
Imran Khan stated that his government has come to a decision of releasing IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman who was held in Pakistan’s custody.
However, as per the government sources, India is not at all ready for negotiating any kind of deal and is demanding the release of Abhinandan Varthaman immediately with no harm caused to the pilot.
Shooting Down Indian Fighter Jets
On Wednesday, Pakistan claimed to have shot down India’s two fighter planes on the Pakistani airspace and took a pilot under custody amidst the ongoing tension between the two nations. Later, it was confirmed by the Ministry of External Affairs that MiG 21 got lost and its pilot had been “missing in action”.
Pakistan Armed Forces’ spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor stated that there is just one Indian pilot arrested by the Pakistan Army and he is being treated in accordance to norms of the military ethics.
