India welcomes Pakistan's return of captured pilot

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Indian military officials said on Thursday they welcomed Pakistan's plan to return the captured Indian pilot on Friday.

The pilot, identified as Abhinandan Varthaman, became the human face of the flare-up over the disputed region of Kashmir following the release of videos showing him being captured and later held in custody.

"We are happy our pilot is being released," said Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor, at a joint news conference of India's three armed forces on Thursday evening.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan said the pilot would be released on Friday, to the relief of many Indians, even as his military reported that four Pakistani civilians had been killed by India firing across the disputed border in Kashmir.

The captured Indian pilot looks on as he holds a cup of tea in the custody of Pakistani forces in an undisclosed location, February 27, 2019. /VCG Photo

"As a peace gesture we will be releasing him tomorrow," Khan told Pakistan's parliament on Thursday afternoon.

The United States, China, European Union and other powers have urged restraint from the two countries, as tensions escalated following a suicide car bombing that killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police in Indian-controlled Kashmir on February 14.

On Tuesday, India said it hit a training camp for a Pakistan-based group who claimed responsibility for the suicide attack.

Imran Khan, Pakistani Prime Minister, addressed a joint session of Parliament held in Islamabad, February 28, 2019. /VCG Photo

Asked about the damage caused by Indian warplanes in Tuesday's air strike, Kapoor said it was premature to provide details about casualties. "Whatever we intended to destroy, we did," he said.

Tuesday's escalation marked the latest deterioration in relations between the two countries. In November, Khan had spoken of "mending ties" with India.

Khan's decision to release the pilot came after several countries offered diplomatic assistance to mediate between the two countries, which have gone to war three times since their independence from British colonial rule in 1947.

Indian Air Force officials show a section of an exploded AMRAAM missile, said to be fired by Pakistan Air Force F-16, during a joint press conference of the Indian Air Force, Army and Navy in New Delhi, February 28, 2019. /VCG Photo

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said after Khan's announcement that he had spoken to the leaders of both countries and urged them to avoid "any action that would escalate and greatly increase risk".

Earlier, U.S. President Trump said he expected "reasonably decent news" regarding the conflict between India and Pakistan, adding that the U.S. was trying to mediate. "They have been going at it and we have been involved in trying to have them stop," Trump said in Hanoi, where he was attending a summit with DPRK's leader.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also offered to facilitate talks between the two sides.

Khan has already called for talks with India to prevent the risk of a "miscalculation" between their militaries.

International passenger planes are seen in a parking area at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, February 27, 2019. /VCG Photo

Earlier on Thursday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who faces a general election in May, told supporters that India would unite against its enemies.

"The world is observing our collective will. It is necessary that we shouldn't do anything that allows our enemy to raise a finger at us," he said, in his first remarks since the downing of planes on Wednesday.

The Chinese government's top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, spoke by telephone with Pakistan's foreign minister and expressed deep concern.

As a precaution amid the increased military activity, Pakistan has shut its airspace, forcing commercial airlines to reroute.

Source(s): Reuters