In ‘cooling down’ phase, IAF pilot meets def min, air chief
Debriefing sessions to follow: Officials
NEW DELHI: Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who returned to India after 60 hours in Pakistan’s custody following a dogfight with its F-16 jet amid heightened tensions between the two countries, underwent medical tests on Saturday as part of a “cooling down” process and met defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman and other top officials a day after being repatriated.
Varthaman was captured in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on Wednesday after his MiG-21 aircraft was downed in a dogfight over the Line of Control. He returned to India on Friday night and was flown to Delhi, where debriefing sessions were to be held for him by the Indian Air Force.
Early on Saturday, Varthaman saw his family members and later met Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa to brief him about his detention in Pakistan, an official with knowledge of the developments said.
After Sitharaman met the Wing Commander at the Indian Army’s RR Hospital in New Delhi, the defence ministry said Varthaman was in high spirits. His wife Squadron Leader (retired) Tanvi Marwah, sevenyear-old son Tavish and sister Aditi were also present at the meeting.
While Varthaman’s return appeared to ease escalating tensions that threatened to snowball into a wider military conflict between India and Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday the word “abhinandan” has assumed a new meaning, indirectly prais-
ing the 38-year-old IAF pilot.
“The strength of our country is that it changes the meaning of words in dictionary. ‘Abhinandan’ in English until now meant ‘congratulations’, but it will be different from now on,” Modi said at an event in New Delhi.
The release of the IAF pilot was announced by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday in a “gesture of peace”. The move came two weeks after a suicide bomber of the Pakistanbased Jaish-e-Mohammed killed 40 troopers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
India blamed Pakistan for harbouring those leading acts of terrorism on Indian soil and said a strong action would be taken against those responsible for the Pulwama attack.
The Indian Air Force said it struck a terror camp of the Jaishe-Mohammed on Tuesday and destroyed the target it intended to eliminate. While the government and the IAF have not released officials figures of the casualties at the camp in Pakistan’s Balakot, security officials said about 300 people present at the compound were likely killed in India’s retaliation.
Even as analysts said the flare-up between India and Pakistan appeared to be easing amid global diplomatic efforts that involved nations such as the United States, Russia and Saudi Arabia, three Indian civilians were killed in heavy shelling by the Pakistan Army along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district.
Police said a woman and her two children were killed in Salotri village in Jhalas area of Krishna Ghati sector when a shell fired by the Pakistan Army exploded inside their house on Friday night.
In Kashmir’s Kupwara district, where four security personnel were killed during an encounter with militants on Friday, the exchange of fire stopped and search operations were being conducted.
Varthaman, who arrived in the national capital around 11.45pm on Friday, was taken to the Air Force Central Medical Establishment (AFCME), a compact and specialised medical evaluation centre for aircrew of all the three services.
He is now undergoing a series of medical tests and the “cooling down” process is expected to continue till Sunday, an official said. Once, the health check-up concludes, debriefing sessions will be arranged for him, the official added.
Varthaman was expected to be repatriated by evening on Friday, but his release was delayed by the Pakistani side, which did not offer an explanation, according to Indian officials.
Amritsar district collector Shivdular Singh Dhillon told reporters Varthaman said “it is good to be back in my country” when he stepped onto Indian soil.
His release coincided with a heavily edited propaganda video that was released to Pakistani TV channels. The video showed the Wing Commander making certain comments, the circumstances of which were not immediately clear. Social media users criticised Pakistan for the video, with some saying it cast doubt over Pakistan’s claims of the release being a peace gesture.
The Prime Minister welcomed the IAF pilot’s return. “Welcome Home Wing Commander Abhinandan! The nation is proud of your exemplary courage. Our armed forces are an inspiration for 130 crore Indians. Vande Mataram!” he wrote in a tweet.