IAF Pilot Abhinandan Varthaman returns home under Geneva Convention

New Delhi : India received Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, the IAF pilot held captive by Pakistan for two days, on Friday evening at the Wagah Border.

He was received by a delegation of the Indian Air Force (IAF). His documentation to travel from Islamabad was done in the morning itself.

Pakistani authorities brought him from Rawalpindi to Lahore and handed him over to the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) under rules of the Geneva Convention.

Since morning, a huge crowd had been waiting for Abhinandan's arrival at the Wagah Border.

Varthaman’s MiG 21 had crashed on the other side while he chased down Pakistan’s F16 jets early on Wednesday morning in the latter’s bid to attack India’s military installations. 

He was captured by the Pakistani armies under Geneva Convention that outlines the basic rights of wartime prisoner, including civilians and military personnel, establishes protection for the wounded and sick, and gives measures to safeguard civilians in and around a war-zone.

On Thursday evening, Pakistan PM Imran Khan announced that Varthaman would be released in a gesture of peace. However, India’s armed forces didn’t make much of it and during a joint press briefing the same evening, they said the neighbour was just acting in consonance with the Geneva Convention.