"Happy to be back home", IAF Hero Abhinandan Varthaman's first words after entering India

The braveheart IAF pilot, finally emerged at 9.10 p.m. India time, at the Wagah checkpost on the Pakistani side, accompanied by Pakistani rangers, the Indian air attache posted in the High Commission in Islamabad.

By : ABP News Bureau | Updated at : 01 Mar 2019 11:27 PM (IST)

Wing Commander Abhinandan smiles as he walks towards his homeland from his captor's side/ Image: PTI

IAF Hero Abhinandan Varthaman finally stepped in India on Friday night after being released from Pakistan’s captivity which lasted for about 60 hours

"IAF is happy to have him back", said AVM Kapoor shortly after Abhinandan's arrival

He will now be taken for a detailed medical checkup

New Delhi: After a daylong wait of billions of Indians, IAF Hero Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman finally stepped in India on Friday night after being released from Pakistan’s captivity which lasted for about 60 hours. The first words of Abhinandan who entered India with a smile on his face were “ I am happy to be back in my country,” Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar Shiv Dular Singh Dhillon informed, while answering media questions soon after the IAF convoy left the Attari border with Abhinandan. After a suspenseful day, the braveheart IAF pilot, finally emerged at 9.10 p.m. India time at the Wagah checkpost on the Pakistani side, accompanied by Pakistani rangers, the Indian air attache posted in the High Commission in Islamabad. He was wearing a civilian clothes, a dark jacket and khakhi trousers,. He was seen walking proudly toward the border gates that separate India and Pakistan. Shortly, after Abhinandan’s homecoming, Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor addressed media and said : “We are happy to have him back.” Kapoor said: “Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has been handed over to us. He will now be taken for a detailed medical checkup because he had to eject from an aircraft. IAF is happy to have him back.” The Air Vice Marshal did not take any questions from the media. Varthaman was arrested when his jet MIG-21 crashed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following an aerial engagement in which India downed one F -16 jet of Pakistan. Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the Indian pilot's return in Parliament on Thursday as a "goodwill gesture" aimed at de-escalating rising tensions between the two countries following the February 14 Pulwama terror attack carried out by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group. Watch the conference of IAF and DC, Amritsar here: