Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured by the Pakistan army earlier this week, is set to return home today in the evening. The wing commander is likely to be handed over to India on Wagah-Attari Joint Check Post by 6 pm today.
People started arriving in Attari, around 30 km from Sikh holy city of Amritsar, since 6 a.m. Their numbers swelled by 9 a.m.
"We have come here to welcome our country's hero back home. We will give him a grand welcome. He showed a lot of bravery in the air combat and even after being captured by the Pakistanis," Jitender, a resident of Amritsar, who arrived here with his friends, said.
Abhinandan's parents, Air Marshal S. Varthaman (Retired) and mother Shobha Varthaman, who is a doctor, were cheered by passengers when they boarded a flight from Chennai to New Delhi on Thursday evening. They are expected to be in Attari to welcome their son back home.
The 35-year-old Wing Commander was captured on Wednesday by Pakistan after his MiG-21 Bison fighter jet was hit by Pakistan Air Force jets near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.
On Friday morning, India's Acting High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia arrived at the Pakistan Foreign Office in Islamabad for a briefing on the imminent release of Wing Commander Abhinandan.
Wing Commander Abhinandan would be accompanied back by India’s air attache, who was headed to Lahore with the IAF pilot’s travel documents, Pakistani media reports said.
Sources said that the pilot is likely to be brought by Pakistani authorities from Rawalpindi to Lahore and handed over first to the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) under rules of the Geneva Convention before being brought to the JCP on Friday afternoon.
The Border Security Force (BSF), which mans the JCP and the 553-km long International Border with Pakistan in Punjab, was at high alert, with Punjab Police and other security agencies stationed and additional personnel since early Friday morning.
Varthaman will be debriefed by defence and security officials after his return before he is taken to New Delhi from the Amritsar airport.
"Many celebrities and other important people come to Attari border on different occasions. But today, a real hero is coming back. We will give him a big and warm welcome with dhol and bhangra," Manjit Singh, who was carrying a dhol, said.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on Thursday that the captured IAF pilot will be freed as a "goodwill gesture" after New Delhi sought his unconditional, immediate and unharmed release.
IANS
