Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman Will Be Home By Lunch Time Today, Probably From Wagah Border

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman of the Indian Air Force (IAF) is all set to return to India today. The development comes a day after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced in Parliament that Varthaman would be released on Friday as a "peace gesture". A delegation of IAF team is expected to receive Wing Commander Varthaman, captured by Pakistan during an aerial combat, at the Wagah border, official sources said.

Varthaman's MiG 21 was shot and he bailed out after bringing down one Pakistani F-16 fighter during a dogfight to repel a Pakistani attack on Wednesday morning. He has been in Pakistan since then.

Tensions between the two countries escalated after Indian fighters bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan early Tuesday. It came 12 days after the JeM claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmir, killing 40 soldiers.

AP/PTI

It is not clear whether Varthaman will be handed over to the International Red Cross or to the Indian authorities by Pakistan.

AFP

India on Wednesday demanded immediate and safe return of the IAF pilot.

"We are happy that our pilot who had fallen across the Line of Control and was in the custody of Pakistan is being released. We are extremely happy to have him back. We only see it as a gesture which is in consonance with the Geneva Conventions," Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor, the assistant chief of Air Staff, told a news conference.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has offered to receive Wing Commander Varthaman at the Attari border.

The Congress leader tweeted his request to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Dear @narendramodi ji , I¡¯m touring the border areas of Punjab & I¡¯m presently in Amritsar. Came to know that @pid_gov has decided to release #AbhinandanVartaman from Wagha. It will be a honour for me to go and receive him, as he and his father are alumnus of the NDA as I am.

¡ª Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) February 28, 2019

"Dear @narendramodi ji, I'm touring the border areas of Punjab & I'm presently in Amritsar. Came to know that @pid_gov has decided to release #AbhinandanVartaman from Wagha. It will be a honour for me to go and receive him, as he and his father are alumnus of the NDA as I am," he wrote.

(With PTI Inputs)