Indian pilot’s release a peace gesture, says Pakistan PM
Pakistan says it will release an Indian fighter pilot it captured this week, easing the immediate risk of further conflict between India and Pakistan after the two nuclear-armed rivals engaged in their most dangerous military encounter in decades.
Calling it a ‘‘peace gesture,’’ Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan told Parliament that the pilot would be released yesterday.
The announcement lowered tensions on the subcontinent and allayed fears that India and Pakistan could be sliding towards war. In recent days, world leaders have called on both countries to step back from outright conflict after they engaged in tit-for-tat airstrikes and their first aerial combat in nearly 50 years.
Pakistan’s announcement that it would free the pilot came hours after United States President Donald Trump said there was ‘‘reasonably decent news’’ from Pakistan and India that had raised his hopes for a reduction in tensions.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters that he had spent ‘‘a good deal of time’’ engaging with the leaders of both countries over the phone, encouraging them not to take any action ‘‘that would escalate and greatly increase risk’’.
Pakistan’s move to release the Indian pilot provides a way for the two countries to de-escalate the situation at a point where both can plausibly claim victory for their domestic audiences. During the week, India launched airstrikes for the first time on an alleged terrorist training camp within Pakistan, a response to a massive suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir on February 14 that killed 40 paramilitary police officers.
Pakistan retaliated by conducting airstrikes on Wednesday just across the unofficial border that divides the Himalayan region of Kashmir.
It said it downed two Indian planes in the ensuing confrontation – although India insists it lost just one – while also capturing the fighter pilot. Commercial flights were suspended across Pakistan and a large swath of northwestern India after the confrontation.
Announcing the release of the pilot to cheers in Parliament, Khan told lawmakers that ‘‘Pakistan’s desire for deescalation should not be confused for weakness.’’ He accused India of rushing to blame Pakistan for the attack and promoting ‘‘war hysteria.’’
In India, Air Vice Marshal R.G.K. Kapoor told reporters that the country’s air force is ‘‘extremely happy and looks forward to the return’’ of the pilot, identified by Indian media outlets as Abhinandan Varthaman.
The country’s armed forces remain in a ‘‘heightened state of readiness,’’ added Indian army Major General Surendra Singh Mahal. He indicated that further escalation from India’s side was not imminent.