Abhinandan Varthaman: Here's what Pakistan PM Imran Khan said on captured IAF pilot

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that his country will send captured Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman to India on Friday as a peace gesture.

Pakistan PM Imran Khan / Image: Facebook

The captured Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Abhinandan Varthaman will be freed on Friday "as a peace gesture", Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on Thursday.

The surprise announcement during a joint session of Pakistan National Assembly.

Imran Khan said he is ready to talk to his Prime Minister Narendra Modi to de-escalate Indo-Pak tensions.

NEW DELHI: The captured Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Abhinandan Varthaman will be freed on Friday "as a peace gesture", Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on Thursday. Varthaman was captured by Pakistan on Wednesday after his plane was shot down. India had demanded the immediate and safe return of the pilot. Addressing a joint session of the National Assembly, Khan said the India-Pakistan situation should not "get out of hand" otherwise "Pakistan will have to retaliate". The announcement was greeted by thumping of desks by Pakistani lawmakers. Sources said modalities of Varthaman's return are being worked out and he might be handed over to India at the Wagha border. The surprise announcement came barely an hour after Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that Prime Minister Khan is ready to talk to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to de-escalate Indo-Pak tensions.

The moment Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan told Parliament that a peace gesture to India its pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan will be released tomorrow

Also note that all MPs thumped their desks in approval pic.twitter.com/DS4K8NcRd3 — omar r quraishi (@omar_quraishi) February 28, 2019

"Countries are ruined because of miscalculation," said Khan. Alleging "war hysteria" in India, he said: "I'm afraid there might be a miscalculation. "War is not a solution. If India takes any action, we will have to retaliate." The joint session of Parliament was called to discuss the rising tensions with India. "The only purpose of our strike (on India on Wednesday) was to demonstrate our capability and will," said the Prime Minister. "We did not want to inflict any casualty on India as we wanted to act in a responsible manner." He said he tried to call Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the telephone on Wednesday because "escalation is not in our interests nor in India's" More details awaited..

Published at : 28 Feb 2019 04:46 PM (IST)

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