Modi_Abhinandan_Imran

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman returned to India late evening on 1 March, a day after Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan announced his release. He was captured on 27 February by Pakistani Army after his MiG-21 Bison aircraft was shot down during an aerial engagement with Pakistani Air Force. The PAF had violated the Indian airspace and unsuccessfully tried to attack Indian military installations. Wg Cdr Varthaman went up with his fighter to prevent the PAF attack. He shot down a PAF F-16 before getting shot down himself.

He was captured but remained calm in the face of the enemy and did not reveal anything more than what the international law allows. His phrase “I am not supposed to tell you that”, which he repeated in response to pointed questions by his Pakistani captors, is now a part of social media folklore.

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Wg Cdr Varthaman’s father is a retired Air Marshal of the IAF and his mother is a doctor. The Wg Cdr previously flew a Sukhoi before getting shifted to the MiG squadron.

Now that he is back, it is time to look at some of the most important elements of the entire episode.

1. Wg Cdr Abhinandan Varthaman beat an F-16 fighter jet with a MiG-21 Bison

Imagine a costly bicycle defeating a BMW — that’s what it means for a MiG-21 Bison aircraft to down an F-16. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman did not just do something amazing – he pulled out a theoretically impossible feat!

Even though the IAF MiG-21 Bison is an upgraded model, it is still a fighter jet of the early Soviet era build around 50 years ago. By comparison the F-16 Fighting Falcon that the Pakistan Air Force flies is a modern 4++ generation combat aircraft that won the countless wars fought by the US in recent years.

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The F-16 is armed with AMRAAM air-to-air missile while the MiG-21 Bison is armed with an R-73 missile. What’s the difference? The difference is like bringing a fork to a sword fight. The R-73 has a maximum range of 30 km and is a simple infrared homing missile. The AMRAAM is a beyond-visual-range fire-and-forget missile with a minimum range of 55 km. The maximum range, depending on the type of the AMRAAM, can be over 160 km. Thus while Wg Cdr Varthaman had to be really close to an F-16 to shoot it down, the F-16 could have targeted him from kilometres away.

This is why Wg Cdr Varthaman will be given a gallantry medal for doing what no pilot in the history of modern warfare has been able to do.

Wg Cdr Abhinandan Varthaman
Hari Bhoomi

2. Wing Commander Varthaman is the second IAF pilot to be released since 1999 Kargil War

On May 26, 1999, during the Kargil War, Flight Lieutenant (now Group Captain) K Nahchiketa was flying his MiG-27 when it flamed out during a bombing run and crashed in Pakistan. He was captured, thus becoming the first PoW of the Kargil War. Nachiketa was released eight days later and was the only IAF officer till before the release of Wg Cdr Varthaman to be sent back to India.

Today Gr Cpt Nachiketa flies IAF transport aircraft because a back injury suffered at the time of the 1999 incident left him incapable of flying fighter jets.

Kambampati Nachiketa IAF pilot
Oneindia

3. United States might take action against Pakistan for using F-16s

India on Thursday presented material evidence proving that Pakistan used F-16s to unsuccessfully attack Indian military installations in Jammu-Kashmir. The evidence included a wreckage of an AMRAAM missile, which can be fired only by a PAF F-16. Islamabad is now in a big problem. According to the sale agreement with the US, Pakistan cannot use F-16 against any anyone except the Taliban. Thus Pakistan could deploy the F-16 on its western front but not on the eastern front. By using the F-16 against India, it violated an international contract with Washington.

Unless Pakistan gets really ‘lucky’, the US will take action against Islamabad.

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U.S-Pak Relations
Global Village Space

4. What was Pakistan doing when the IAF charged into the country to destroy Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror camps?

While the world still laughs remembering that ironic “sleep tight” Twitter post by PAF, the fact is that Pakistan never thought that India will launch any attack on Pak-based terrorists from the air. Following the 2016 surgical strike, Pakistan was ready on the ground but had become complacent about air defence especially since India did not cross the LoC even during the Kargil War.

Moreover, Pakistan was very busy tackling the escalating situation on its western front. While there is ever posing threat of the Afghan Taliban, the bigger danger to Pakistan is Iran.

Tehran had recently threatened Islamabad after Pak-sponsored terrorists killed many soldiers of the elite Revolutionary Guards of Iran. Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, the chief of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), warned Pakistan to either stop harbouring terrorists or be ready for Iranian counteraction.

At the same time, on 17 February, just 9 days before the IAF attack on Pakistan-based terrorist camps, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met Iran’s deputy Foreign Minister in an unscheduled stopover en route to Bulgaria to discuss the tensions between India and Pakistan. We will never know what transpired between the two unless it is revealed by some informed columnist or insider.

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jem
India TV

5. Wg Cdr Varthaman was issued a one-page visa to allow him to enter India

There are tons of paperwork to be done at the immigration post at Attari-Wagah border. Even though he was a prisoner-of-war being repatriated, the paperwork is an obligation that no democracy can overlook. Pakistan created hurdles by stressing on more documentation, which delayed the procedures.

India had to issue a one-page visa to Wg Cdr Varthaman before securing his freedom from Pakistan and to enable him to enter India as per protocol.

Also Pakistani security forces took some time out for Namaz.

Wing Commander Abhinandan
Sonu Nigam/Twitter

6. Pakistan wanted photo opportunity but India denied it to them

Islamabad wanted to use the opportunity to reconstruct its shady image before the world. India denied them this opportunity by insisting that there should be no Pakistani left at the other side of Wagah who had arrived to witness the Beating Retreat ceremony.

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The intention was that no one is able to take pictures of the handover and help Pakistan gloat over their so-called “peace gesture”. India had already cancelled the Beating Retreat ceremony in the light of the situation.

Joy Thomas Kurien, Abhinandan, Fariha Bugti
Group Captain Joy Thomas Kurien, Wing Commander Abhinandan and officer in Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr Fariha Bugti (L to R)The Quint

7. It is foolish to think that the IAF pilot’s release was a “peace gesture”

That’s what Pakistan, its Prime Minister Imran Khan, some anti-Modi Indian media personalities and the dreamy peaceniks in our country would want the nation to believe. There are multiple verified Twitter handles of journalists, intellectuals, student leaders and some celebrities – the usual Left-ideologue – who are praising Imran Khan to the skies and even, on some occasions, raising doubts on the IAF’s attack on the JeM camp. While they are doing a great service to Pakistan by unknowingly participating in ISI’s propaganda, fact is that Pakistan was under tremendous pressure to release the IAF pilot.

The pressure was manifold – Geneva Convention, US anger, Saudi Arabia siding with India, and China not siding with Pakistan.

The Geneva Convention warranted that Pakistan must return Wg Cdr Varthaman and not hurt him (even though they did). At the joint press conference of the tri-services, the IAF said that the gesture is “in consonance with all Geneva Conventions” and not a “peace gesture”.

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China, which is Pakistan’s all-weather ally, did not condemn India’s air attack and played a diplomatic balancing game. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) did not listen to Pakistan’s request to dis-invite India, forcing Islamabad to stay away from major group of mostly Muslim-majority countries.

And US President Donald Trump had just hours before Imran Khan’s announcement said that he was aware of a “good news”. And since the Pak PM cannot even announce a cabinet decision without consulting the Army, Khan could not have taken the decision to release the IAF pilot. Since the decision was taken by the Pak military, it is very much likely that the US gave an earful to the ISI.

imran khan
GNN

8. But Pakistan won the perception war

Islamabad won the game of perception. With a propaganda machinery much better than India’s, Pakistan managed to ensure that it is seen as a peace-lover with the Wg Cdr Varthaman episode. Not a single media house in Pakistan criticised the armed forces after the IAF attack. Even though many were left-leaning, their news was structured and non-critical of the establishment. On the contrary, many Indian media personalities and the usual verified Twitter handles were extremely quick in showering praises on Khan immediately after the announcement of the IAF pilot’s release so much so that it appeared as if they will hand the Nobel Peace prize to him. Thanks to such Indians and its own machinery, Islamabad won the optics round.

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9. Will the tensions between India and Pakistan go down?

It is too early to say that. India has made it clear that it will continue its war against terrorism. So as long as Pakistan breeds terrorism, India will continue to retaliate. Moreover, Indian armed forces know the cost of war. The peaceniks in India are trying to dissuade and discourage the valiant soldiers of our armed forces with their propagandist talks of an impractical utopian peace. But the government and a majority of the Indians believe that peace can come only after Pakistan stops harbouring terrorists.

India BSF along Border
News India Times

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STAFF EDITOR- Likes to write on national security and defence.