Pakistan Returns Indian Fighter Pilot Who Was Shot Down in Kashmir Clash

(WAGAH, Pakistan) — Pakistan handed over a captured Indian air force pilot to Indian officials at a border crossing on Friday, a “gesture of peace” by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan aimed at defusing a dramatic escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbors over the disputed region of Kashmir.

The pilot, identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, walked across the border near the Pakistani town of Wagah after being taken in a convoy earlier in the day from the eastern city of Lahore, escorted by military vehicles and soldiers, their weapons drawn. Dressed in a blue blazer and gray dress pants, he was greeted by Indian policemen and military personnel on the Indian side.

The freed pilot was scheduled to undergo a detailed medical exam before boarding a flight from Amritsar, near the India-Pakistan border, to New Delhi for a debriefing with top air force officials about his captivity.