War is futile, says Pakistan, after capturing IAF Wing CDR Abhinandan

Pakistani soldiers next to what Pakistan says is the wreckage of an Indian fighter jet shot down in the Somani area of Bhimbar district near the Line of Control on February 27. Pic/AFP

An IAF pilot was in Pakistani custody and a Pakistani fighter jet was shot down, New Delhi said on Wednesday as fears of war darkened India-Pakistan relations with Islamabad launching retaliatory strikes and claiming it has arrested an Indian pilot in its territory.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan tried to defuse the tension by saying war is futile and can lead to unknown consequences while making an oblique reference to the nuclear weapons that both countries possess.

The Pakistan Army retracted its earlier statement that two IAF pilots were arrested and in the evening said it had "only one" pilot in its custody. "There is only one pilot under Pakistan Army's custody. Wing Comd Abhinandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics," Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said in the evening. IAF sources identified him as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.

Imran Khan, Pakistan PM

A day after India bombed Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM's) biggest training camp in Pakistan, it was a morning of developments moving with dizzying rapidity. Islamabad claimed it hit back at India by bringing down two Indian military aircraft, one of which crashed in Pakistan occupied Kashmir while the other fell in Jammu and Kashmir. Officials here said Indian air defence forces shot down a Pakistani Air Force F-16 fighter jet in Jammu region's Rajouri sector. During the encounter, a MiG 21 was lost and the pilot was missing. Officials said Pakistani fighter jets violated Indian air space in Poonch and Rajouri sectors but were pushed back by Indian aircraft. The jets dropped bombs while returning but there were no reports of casualties or damage, they said.

"Pakistan has responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistan's attempts were foiled successfully," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

In Islamabad, the Pakistan Army released a 46-second video showing a blindfolded man claiming he is Abhinandan. "I am an IAF officer. My service no is 27981," the man is seen as saying in the video. The veracity of the video could not be ascertained.

'IAF pilot being treated as per military ethics'
Indian Air Force's Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, in Pakistani custody after his aircraft was shot down on Wednesday morning, will be governed under the Geneva Convention of 1929. "There is only one pilot under Pakistan Army's custody. Wing Comd Abhinandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics," Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said on Twitter as tension between the two countries escalated.

The rules protecting prisoners of war (POWs) are specific. They were first detailed in the 1929 Geneva Convention and later amended in the third 1949 Geneva Convention following the lessons of World War II. According to the rules, the status of POW only applies in international armed conflict. POWs cannot be prosecuted.

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