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The identity of the Indian pilot captured by Pakistan was revealed on February 28th.
Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman is the captured pilot. As reported by the Times of India, his father is retired Air Marshal Simhakutty Varthaman, who last served as Eastern Air Command Chief.
There is only one pilot under Pakistan Army’s custody. Wing Comd Abhi Nandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics: DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor#PakistanArmyZindabad #PakistanAirForceOurPride #PakistanZindabad ?? pic.twitter.com/NwfKELb2Tv
— Govt of Pakistan (@pid_gov) February 27, 2019
Abdhinandan was first commissioned as a fighter pilot in 2004. His mother is a doctor. He is reported to be in his mid-30s.
India summoned the deputy high commissioner of Pakistan and demanded immediate and safe return of the IAF pilot. India also warned Pakistan against causing any harm to the Indian defense personnel.
Numerous political figures in India also expressed their support to the pilot’s family and friends and reiterated their support of his release.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi tweeted the following:
?? I’m sorry to hear that one of our brave IAF pilots is missing. I hope he will return home soon, unharmed. We stand by our armed forces in these difficult times. ??
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 27, 2019
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said Pakistan should treat the pilot “as you would have us treat one of your men in uniform should he be unfortunate enough to be captured on this side of the border.”
Thoughts with the family, friends & colleagues of #WingCommanderAbhinandan. Prayers for his early & safe return home to all those eagerly waiting for him.
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) February 27, 2019
In a joint statement, leaders of 21 parties condemned the Pakistani “misadventure” and expressed their “deep concern for the safety of our missing pilot”.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the whole country “is proud of this brave son and everyone is hoping for his safe return.”
I pray for the safety of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan.
Whole country is proud of this brave son and everyone is hoping for his safe return. We all stand united to keep our country safe and strong— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 27, 2019
On February 28th, Hindustan Times reported that Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval spoke to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Mike Pompeo told Ajit Doval that the US supported India’s decision to take target terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed’s biggest training camp at Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.
On February 26th, Pompeo spoke with both Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Following the talks, he released the following statement:
“Following Indian counter-terrorism actions on February 26, I spoke with Indian Minister of External Affairs Swaraj to emphasise our close security partnership and shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region.
I also spoke to Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi to underscore the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action, and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil.”
According to the outlet, several days earlier US National Security Adviser John Bolton spoke with Ajit Doval over the phone. In the conversation, Bolton said that the US supports India’s right to defend itself from terror groups.
Pakistani Water Minister Faisal Vavda posed with the flag of Pakistan on the wreckage of a MiG-21bis UPG (Bison) fighter of the Indian Air Force shot down by the Pakistani Air Force over the Control Line between the Indian and Pakistani parts of Kashmir.
Furthermore, Initially, Pakistani Air Force announced that another Indian fighter was shot down, “fallen in the Indian-occupied part of Kashmir”, however, there is no evidence of this.
In turn, the Indian news agency ANI spread the information that the allegedly MiG-21bis UPG (Bison) fighter of the Indian Air Force, using a short-range R-73E missile air-to-air, shot down the Pakistani F-16 fighter, as if falling in the Lam Valley in the Pakistani part of Kashmir. However, there is also no evidence of this.
Also on the morning of February 27, in the Indian part of Kashmir, about 100 km from the Line of Control, the Mi-17V-5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force crashed out of Srinagar. All 6 crew members died and one civilian on the ground. It is unclear whether the incident was due to hostile actions from the Pakistani side.
Then on February 27th, Times of India posted an infographic showing the Indian side of the incident.
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There are multiple pictures released by the Pakistani side and showing wreckages of the airplane, as well as videos the Indian pilot being captured. There are also pictures of the personal belongings of the Wing Commander that were seized.
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MORE ON THE TOPIC:
Lol. Is the alleged hot pursuit applicable in the airways? Good that nobody used SAMs as it may be mistaken for some other missile. Surely there must be some more specific radar or satellite data.
It’s highly mountainous terrain, lots of place to hide behind from enemy radar, not enough time to respond with a SAM radar lock. Now, aircraft on CAP would be in a better position to respond then SAM operators on the ground.
Some of the peaks near the LOC are over 20,000 feet, Siachin glacier is the world’s highest battlefield.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5cdb839dbd05eea4dd73bed17f7dcfa5d9a321a6f940b206887aeb214ebcb29a.jpg
Pakistani Alpine troops operating at 21,000 feet wrest control of Siachin glacier. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/321ee48b5164330adbd351e68b5b80726e66fede7f3c455707525c46138ed88d.jpg
Thats some tough MF’s there.
Mountain fighting aint no joke, these guys hearts must be huuugggeee
Due to altitude sickness, they rotate them every three months. The Pakistanis have
a special forces brigade for high altitude fighting. The Canadian journalist Eric Margolis spent a few days with them as their base camp at a place called Passu (11, 000 feet) and said he had never come across tougher troops anywhere. His book is WAR ON TOP OF THE WORLD. Even the specialized light Aleoutte 2 helos need oxygen fed into the engines. In 1999 they downed a Indian MIG 27 with a manpad at that altitude. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c456cac424f66805b243d62032af5f9878038e68e0ff423942cdeef2a2887b57.jpg
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9e112b2602ca5fa750c42be3b738802da40e81f4497bea38e453668f67b3dea5.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d9b69dc9c1efa8be61e4a09c07084957a56ef324f53897eeba25520e81c845d8.jpg
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Wing Commander Abdhinandangot his wings in 2004, and is supposedly in his mid 30’s? So he’s been flying fighters since he was 15? I used to work alongside naval fighter pilots, they were all young guys like me. By 30 they are past it and move on to less demanding flying. But it takes time to train a pilot, so most get 8 years at best playing top gun.
This guy has to be at least 45, probably 50, and is way to old to be flying a fighter in combat.
India is short of pilots and they keep them on CAP and other missions till late 40’s early 50’s. The Pakistani kids that shot down the IAF jets are in their late 20’s. Squadron Leader Hassan Siddiqui is equal of a US or Iranian Major in rank. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4e4bbfda0d91a855f646af819bbb304db3d59785b40499f665830f73576f07c6.jpg
A very objective article in the Independent today about Zionists goaded India into a suicidal conflict and humiliation.
Israel prompted India into a fatal mistake
For months, Israel has been assiduously lining itself up alongside India’s nationalist BJP government in an unspoken – and politically dangerous – “anti-Islamist” coalition, an unofficial, unacknowledged alliance, while India itself has now become the largest weapons market for the Israeli arms trade. Not by chance, therefore, has the Indian press just trumpeted the fact that Israeli-made Rafael Spice-2000 “smart bombs” were used by the Indian air force in its strike against Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) “terrorists” inside Pakistan.
Like many Israeli boasts of hitting similar targets, the Indian adventure into Pakistan might owe more to the imagination than military success. The “300-400 terrorists” supposedly eliminated by the Israeli-manufactured and Israeli-supplied GPS-guided bombs may turn out to be little more than rocks and trees.
Good analysis by Robert Fisk at the Independent (reputable British Broadsheet newspaper)
Realistic assessment by Robert Fisk as usual.
Just read it, I hadn’t noticed your post, so I also gave it a plug. Fisk is an old school journalist, he actually investigates, and doesn’t just write propaganda. John Pilger is also a journalist, but his passion does colour his stories somewhat.
There are so few journalists left most are just fiction writers
Pakistan has just announced that the Indian geriatric pilot will be released tomorrow as a gesture of goodwill. The moron Trump who walked out of a meeting with Kim also said that Modi wants no more conflict. The Pakistanis figured out that India has a piss ant airforce.
“While Pakistan Appears Ready For Confrontation”
i watched an interview of the Pakistani president yesterday asking for dialog with India. He didn’t sound confrontational to me. In fact he sounded just the opposite. Nothing in the article about confrontation or did i miss something?
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Pakistanis look like Italian mob guys.
It will be long wait :) https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/746d750dc2fe4b2a16f9b64d831095d0c0ad831cabcca17f5e5d307f8d0c4c96.jpg
The cow worshipers look bad on this one, me thinks it stinks.
LOL. Indians did not come out with flying colors.
There is an interesting story by Robert Fisk, that insinuates that Israel might be behind this conflict.
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/israel-india-pakistan-conflict-balakot-arms-trade-jaish-e-mohammed-a8800076.html