On this day in 2019, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was captured by Pakistan when Pakistani Air Force struck down two Indian jets.
Abhinandan‘s jet was shot down in what Islamabad called a ‘retaliation’ to India conducting air strikes in its territory.
Wing Commander Varthaman was captured after he bailed out of his aircraft across the Line of Control, but not before he brought down a Pakistan Air Force F-16 that, along with other PAF aircraft, tried to attack positions within India on the morning of February 27 in the Nowshera sector of Jammu.
Initially Pakistan had claimed it had captured two pilots, but it retracted its statement, saying only one Indian pilot had been arrested.
“There is only one pilot under Pakistan Army’s custody. Wing Commander Abhinandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics,” Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said on February 27 evening.
A video was released by Major General Ghafoor showing a…