Pakistan repatriates Abhinandan, large crowd outside Attari celebrate his return

ISLAMABAD/ATTARI: IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, captured by Pakistanis on Wednesday after his MiG-21 crashed across the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, was repatriated to India from the Wagah-Attari border on Friday night.


The pilot, who was expected to be released by Pakistan on Friday afternoon, crossed over to India only around 9.20 pm as huge crowds waited outside the Attari ICP to welcome him despite cold and rain.

Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had on Friday morning said

Abhinandan

would be handed over to Indian officials at the Wagah-Attari border in the afternoon. “As the prime minister (Imran Khan) has said, as a peace gesture and to de-escalate matters, the Indian pilot will be released. So today (Friday), this afternoon, he will be released at

Wagah

,” Qureshi said, raising expectations in India of an early handover.

The handover, however, took hours and Abhinandan finally crossed over to the Indian side after 9 pm. Dressed in a blue coat and white shirt, he was escorted to the Zero Line by the air attaché at the Indian high commission in Islamabad, Group Captain Joy Thomas Kurien and a Pakistan foreign ministry lady official. Senior Border Security Force officers welcomed him at the Zero Line on the Indian side.

The handover at Wagah was telecast live on Pakistani television channels, but the media in India was kept away and not allowed inside the ICP Attari. The Pakistan foreign office issued a statement titled “Return of Indian POW Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman” after the handover that described it as a “gesture of peace” and said Abhinandan “while in captivity, was treated with dignity and in line with international law.”

Abhinandan was immediately whisked away by the IAF from Attari — a huge convoy of senior IAF officers and those from Army, BSF, Punjab Police and Amritsar district administration that included ambulances had arrived at Attari around 4 pm.

Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor told the media assembled outside the Attari ICP gates that Abhinandan would first be taken for a detailed medical check-up. “This is mandatory as he had ejected from his plane and must have caused great stress to his body,” he said, adding: “IAF is happy to have him back.”

Amritsar DC Shivdular Singh Dhillon, who briefed the media gathered outside Attari ICP through the day, said Pakistan had not given any explanation for the delay in the handover and India had not sought one. When asked how Abhinandan had reacted after stepping back on the Indian soil, Dhillon said he was smiling and said, “It is good to be in back in my country”.

He confirmed Abhinandan's parents were not at Attari to receive him.

Large groups of people, waving tricolours and dancing to the beat of drums, had to return disappointed as they could not even catch a glimpse of the pilot.

India had earlier cancelled ceremonial march that is an important part of the Beating the Retreat at Attari border that attracts a huge audience. The flag lowering ceremony would take place but because of security logistics, the parade was cancelled, according to sources. No civilians were allowed to enter the ICP.