Varthaman returns home

I ndian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman returned to India late yesterday after being freed in what Islamabad called a “peace gesture”. Varthaman crossed into India at the famed Wagah crossing point, sporting a black eye from his ordeal. Dressed in navy blue blazers, white shirt and grey trousers, the pilot was escorted by Pakistan Rangers till the Zero Line that marks the India-Pakistan land border. His first words were “it is good to be back in my country”, an official told reporters. Documentation was cited as the reason for the delayed homecoming of Varthaman after nearly 60 hours in Pakistan.

The Press Trust of India quoted sources as saying the handover was delayed as he was forced to record a statement on camera by Pakistani authorities before he was allowed to cross the border. Thousands of Indians, waving flags, singing and dancing with patriotic fervour, had gathered at the crossing point yesterday afternoon but the crowd dwindled after his release was delayed inexplicably by hours. In New Delhi the announcement of the experienced pilot’s release was seen as a diplomatic victory, but India warned that its military remained on “heightened” alert.

On Thursday and Friday both countries continued to fire barrages across the Line of Control (LoC), the de-facto border dividing Kashmir, leaving at least one person dead. Gun battles on the Indian side left two militants and four members of the Indian security services dead, while a civilian was killed in later protests, police said. “Influence of terrorists and terrorism has been curtailed and it is going to be curtailed even more.

This is a New India,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi, facing a tough election due by May, said Friday. “This is an India that will return the damage done by terrorists with interest,” he said. India’s junior foreign minister and former army chief, Vijay Kumar Singh, tweeted that the “welcome” release of the pilot was “the first of many steps that #Pakistan must take to reinforce their commitment to peace”.

Suicide bombing

Matters escalated alarmingly after a massive suicide bombing killed 40 Indian troops on February 14, with the attack claimed by a Pakistan-based militant group. Twelve days later Indian warplanes launched a strike inside undisputed Pakistani territory, claiming to have hit a militant camp. An infuriated Islamabad denied casualties or damage, but a day later launched its own incursion across the LoC. That sparked the dogfight which ended in both countries claiming they had shot down each other’s warplanes, and Abhinandan’s capture.

Prime Minister Imran Khan unexpectedly announced Thursday that he would be released in the first sign of a potential thaw. Khan alluded to the catastrophic consequences of nuclear war and called for talks -- even as he warned India should not take the announcement as a sign of weakness. Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi meanwhile said he was boycotting a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held in Abu Dhabi, as India had been invited.

The tensions prompted Pakistan to close down its airspace, disrupting major routes between Europe and South Asia and grounding thousands of travellers worldwide.