Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa and Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman on Monday flew a sortie in a MiG-21 fighter aircraft from the Pathankot Airbase.
Six bodies and remains of seven others have been recovered from the crash site of the ill-fated AN-32 days after a massive search operation was initiated, Defence spokesperson Wing Commander Ratnakar Singh in Shillong said on Thursday.
Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was brought to Delhi after he crossed into India through the Attari-Wagah border yesterday, met Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa on Saturday morning and briefed him about his detention in Pakistan, officials said.
BJP President Amit Shah Friday said creating situation for return of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman from Pakistan was a diplomatic victory, ahead of the expected arrival of the captured pilot.
Robert Vadra, businessman husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, on Thursday said that the announcement about release of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman by Pakistan is the best news of the day.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday announced that Indian Pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan will be released on Friday as a peace gesture.
After the ‘missing in action’ Indian Air Force pilot was captured by the Pakistani Army after his MiG-21 Bison jet crashed on Pakistani soil, Pakistan-based newspaper Dawn claimed that a boy shot at the Indian pilot identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s leg while he was taking out some documents and maps from his pockets, some of which he tried to swallow and soaked others in water.
The Indian High Commission in Islamabad last evening gave a demarche to Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) for the immediate and safe return of IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, sources said.
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