WAGAH/ATTARI, March 1 - After a suspenseful wait lasting hours, Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman finally returned home on Friday night from his nearly three-day captivity in Pakistan, a major step towards defusing a near-war situation triggered by India�s retaliation over Pakistan�s continued support for terrorism.
Hoping to give a hero�s welcome to Wing Commander Varthaman, thousands of Indians gathered on the border carrying the Tricolour and garlands since morning. But as the day wore on and night fell there was no sign of the pilot, who was captured on February 27 by Pakistan following a dogfight between two fighter jets in which his MiG 21 was shot down.
He finally emerged at 9.10 pm (IST) 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 civilian clothes, walking proudly toward the gates that separated his captors� country from his homeland.
Amritsar�s Deputy Commissioner Shiv Dular Singh Dhillon told reporters that the fighter pilot was happy to be back in his country.
Asked what Abhinandan told officials upon his return, the DC said he first smiled and remarked, �I am happy to be back to my country�.
Giving further details, the DC said, �The Pakistan authorities brought Wing Commander Abhinandan to the Joint Check Post at Attari and he crossed over the Zero Line at around 9:21 pm (IST). After going through some formalities at the Wagah-Attari border, he was handed over to the BSF authorities. Later, the IAF authorities took him with them.�
The Wing Commander was then driven away from there towards Amritsar in an Air Force vehicle which was escorted by Punjab Police.
The Deputy Commissioner said the officer�s parents were not present at the checkpost.
Varthaman is being flown to Delhi and will undergo debriefing on Saturday, which will include his physiological as well as a physical checkup in the presence of officials from the military and intelligence agencies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the return of Varthaman, saying the nation is proud of his exemplary courage. �Welcome Home Wing Commander Abhinandan! The nation is proud of your exemplary courage. Our armed forces are an inspiration for 130 crore Indians,� tweeted Modi.
Earlier, addressing a public rally in Tamil Nadu, Modi said, �Every Indian is proud of brave pilot Abhinandan.�
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also came out with a �Jai Hind� tweet.
Several political leaders also welcomed the IAF hero back home.
Vice Chief Marshal RGK Kapoor read out a brief statement before a large posse of reporters in Attari, near Amritstar, on the other side of Wagah.
�Wing Commander Abhinandan has just been handed over to us. He will be taken now for a detailed medical checkup. This checkup is mandatory as he had to eject from an airplane which would have put his entire body under stress,� said Kapoor, who did not take any questions.
The handing over of Varthaman to India was delayed as he was asked to record a statement on camera by Pakistani authorities before he was allowed to cross the border, according to sources in Pakistan.
It was not clear whether he was made to record the video under duress. The video also had several jump cuts indicating that it had been edited heavily, apparently to fit Pakistani propaganda.
At 8.30 pm (9 pm IST), the Pakistan government released the pilot�s video message to the local media in which he said as to how he was captured.
In the video message, Varthaman said he entered Pakistan�s space to �find a target� but his aircraft was shot down.
