Indian Pilot Released at Pakistan Border in ‘Gesture of Peace’
- Wing Commander Varthaman handed over at Wagah-Attari border
- Pilot’s release aimed at de-escalating India-Pakistan clashes
People celebrate with a banner of Commander Abhinandan Varthaman in New Delhi on March 1, 2019.
Photographer: Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images
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An Indian Air Force pilot captured by Pakistan was released on Friday, offering the two countries a chance to de-escalate the worst military tensions in decades.
Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was handed over to Indian authorities after his jet was shot down over the disputed region of Kashmir earlier this week. Indian and Pakistani television channels showed Varthaman being handed over at the Wagah-Attari border crossing in the state of Punjab, which was split in the Partition of British India in 1947.