Pakistan Foreign Minister: 'We are willing to return Wing Commander Abhinandan if...'
As tension between India and Pakistan escalates to new level, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that they might consider to return IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan ‘if it means de-esclataion,’ as quoted in media.
News agency ANI, quoting Pakistan’s news channel Geo News tweeted, “Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday said Pakistan is willing to consider returning the Indian pilot if it means de-escalation of ties between the two countries.”
As per sources in Ministry of Home Affairs, India has not asked for any consular access rather the release of Wing Commander Abhinandan.
Pakistan's Geo News: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday said Pakistan is willing to consider returning the Indian pilot if it means de-escalation. pic.twitter.com/CA6UuWUwxJ
— ANI (@ANI) February 28, 2019
Pakistan's Geo News: On being asked if he is open to meeting Indian EAM Sushma Swaraj on sidelines of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation(OIC) meet. Pakistan Foreign Minister SM Qureshi said he will not hesitate to meet but OIC is not the forum for talks with Swaraj. https://t.co/3yVbgYMyi1
— ANI (@ANI) February 28, 2019
Earlier, as the war like hysteria was created after India’s strike at the terror camps of Jaish-e-Mohammad in Balakot, Pakistan retaliated with its F 16 fighter jets and in the operation, the MiG of Abhinandan was shot down and fell into PoK.
While the sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs have said, “India expects Wing Commander #AbhinandanVartaman to be returned immediately, there is no question of any deal. If Pakistan thinks they have a card to negotiate with then they are mistaken. India expects the Wing Commander to be treated in a humane manner.”
Analyzing the situation, the US President Donald Trump today stated that ‘some good news might come in the tension between India and Pakistan.’
“I think reasonably attractive news from Pakistan and India, they have been going at it and we have been involved and have them stop, we have some reasonably decent news,hopefully its going to be coming to an end, going on for a long time,decades and decades.”
Also read: Captured IAF Pilot Abhinandan: What does the Geneva Convention say about Prisoner of War
First published: 28 February 2019, 15:04 IST