ISLAMABAD, March 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Pakistan will release a captured Indian pilot on Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan told a joint session of parliament Thursday, in an overture towards New Delhi after soaring tensions fuelled fears of conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals.
“As a peace gesture we are releasing the Indian pilot tomorrow,” Khan
said, a day after Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was shot down in a rare aerial engagement between the South Asian neighbours over the disputed region of Kashmir.
“We are ready to hand over the Indian pilot if it leads to de-escalation,” foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal said, attributing the statement to Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
The incident was the latest in a dangerous sequence of events between the two countries that have sent tensions rocketing, as major world powers including China, the US and the UN urged restraint.
It sparked fears of India and Pakistan — who have fought two wars and countless deadly skirmishes over Kashmir — entering a cycle of retaliation and counterattacks that could spiral out of control.
Abhinandan, who rapidly attained hero status in his own country, has become the face of the escalating conflict, with analysts touting him as a potential trump card for Islamabad and perhaps the key to bringing the arch-rivals back from the brink.
Earlier Thursday Faisal told reporters that the pilot “is with us, he is safe and in good condition”.
What happens to him next could prove central to de-escalating one of the most serious confrontations between the rival neighbours in decades, analysts say.
Any mistreatment of him could create huge anger in India and send tensions soaring once more — but his safe release could “aid peace”, a retired Indian general said. — NNN-AGENCIES
