India-Pakistan LIVE news updates: Indian Air force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who is in Islamabad’s custody, will be returned on Friday in what Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan calls a “peace gesture”. The announcement, made during a joint session of Parliament in Pakistan, is being seen as first signs of de-escalation of tension between the two countries.
India-Pakistan LIVE news updates: Indian Air force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who is in Islamabad’s custody, will be returned on Friday in what Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan calls a “peace gesture”. The announcement, made during a joint session of Parliament in Pakistan, is being seen as first signs of de-escalation of tension between the two countries.
Hours after the announcement, the Indian armed forces, at a joint press briefing in New Delhi, assured the country of “a resolute, swift and strong response when needed”. They also added that the IAF pilot’s return was “in consonance with the Geneva Convention.” It had earlier expressed objections to Pakistan’s “vulgar display” of the pilot after videos of him in the Army’s custody surfaced on social media. Sources said Delhi made it clear that there was no deal to be made and there was no room for negotiations but added that there would be consequences if the pilot was harmed or not released.
Abhinandan’s parents who are on their way to Amritsar to welcome their son were greeted by cheers, handshakes and standing ovation inflight. As their flight landed in New Delhi, instead of rushing to deboard the plane, the fellow passengers, in a gesture of gratitude, waited for the proud parents to deboard first.
Amid the rising tensions between India and Pakistan, the release of Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has set the ball rolling for de-escalation between the two countries. Varthaman has been in Pakistan Army’s custody since Wednesday after his MiG-21 Bison was hit by ground air defence weapons when he was in the process of thwarting the PAF’s intrusion in the Indian airspace. Retracting from its earlier statement that two Indian pilots were in its custody, Pakistan Army later said that only one IAF pilot was captured by its forces.
The Pakistani announcement on Varthaman's release came after it sought an assurance — the US-led global efforts to try and defuse the crisis — that India would not retaliate for targeting of its military installations by the Pakistan Air Force and downing of Varthaman’s MiG-21 Bison.
In a joint press briefing, the Indian armed forces also rubbished Pakistan's claims that it never used American F-16s in its attempted air strike on military installations in the Rajouri sector. Presenting parts of a fired AMRAAM missile which can only be fired from an F-16 aircraft, Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor said, "There is enough evidence to show that F-16s were used in this mission and Pakistan is trying to hide this fact."
The debris presented was of AIM-120 C-5 AMRAAM missile, with markings showing the contract number of the missile as FA8675-05-C-0070 and serial number as CC12947. This is the contract number (FA8675-05-C-0070/P00028) placed by Headquarters Medium Range Missile Systems Group, Eglin Air Force Base for Foreign Military Sales to Pakistan on November 17, 2006.
The evidence is critical to establishing the use of the F-16s in the air strike since the US, which sold the fighter jets to Pakistan, does not allow these platforms to be used in an offensive role.
AMRAAM missiles allow a fighter pilot to target an enemy aircraft that is beyond visual range, in day or night, and in all weather conditions. The AMRAAM has an autonomous guidance capability, which allows the pilot to manoeuvre immediately after missile launch.
Hours after the announcement, the Indian armed forces, at a joint press briefing in New Delhi, assured the country of “a resolute, swift and strong response when needed”. They also added that the IAF pilot’s return was “in consonance with the Geneva Convention.” It had earlier expressed objections to Pakistan’s “vulgar display” of the pilot after videos of him in the Army’s custody surfaced on social media. Sources said Delhi made it clear that there was no deal to be made and there was no room for negotiations but added that there would be consequences if the pilot was harmed or not released.
Abhinandan’s parents who are on their way to Amritsar to welcome their son were greeted by cheers, handshakes and standing ovation inflight. As their flight landed in New Delhi, instead of rushing to deboard the plane, the fellow passengers, in a gesture of gratitude, waited for the proud parents to deboard first.
Amid the rising tensions between India and Pakistan, the release of Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has set the ball rolling for de-escalation between the two countries. Varthaman has been in Pakistan Army’s custody since Wednesday after his MiG-21 Bison was hit by ground air defence weapons when he was in the process of thwarting the PAF’s intrusion in the Indian airspace. Retracting from its earlier statement that two Indian pilots were in its custody, Pakistan Army later said that only one IAF pilot was captured by its forces.
The Pakistani announcement on Varthaman's release came after it sought an assurance — the US-led global efforts to try and defuse the crisis — that India would not retaliate for targeting of its military installations by the Pakistan Air Force and downing of Varthaman’s MiG-21 Bison.
In a joint press briefing, the Indian armed forces also rubbished Pakistan's claims that it never used American F-16s in its attempted air strike on military installations in the Rajouri sector. Presenting parts of a fired AMRAAM missile which can only be fired from an F-16 aircraft, Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor said, "There is enough evidence to show that F-16s were used in this mission and Pakistan is trying to hide this fact."
The debris presented was of AIM-120 C-5 AMRAAM missile, with markings showing the contract number of the missile as FA8675-05-C-0070 and serial number as CC12947. This is the contract number (FA8675-05-C-0070/P00028) placed by Headquarters Medium Range Missile Systems Group, Eglin Air Force Base for Foreign Military Sales to Pakistan on November 17, 2006.
The evidence is critical to establishing the use of the F-16s in the air strike since the US, which sold the fighter jets to Pakistan, does not allow these platforms to be used in an offensive role.
AMRAAM missiles allow a fighter pilot to target an enemy aircraft that is beyond visual range, in day or night, and in all weather conditions. The AMRAAM has an autonomous guidance capability, which allows the pilot to manoeuvre immediately after missile launch.