Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday offered to receive the captured Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Abhinandan Varthaman after he is released by Pakistan on Friday.
The Punjab CM expressed his desire in a tweet to PM Modi.
Dear @narendramodi ji , I’m touring the border areas of Punjab & I’m presently in Amritsar. Came to know that @pid_gov has decided to release #AbhinandanVartaman from Wagha. It will be a honour for me to go and receive him, as he and his father are alumnus of the NDA as I am.
— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) February 28, 2019
The 35-year-old Wing Commander was captured by Pakistan on Wednesday after his MiG fell in Pakistani territory during an aerial dogfight.
In a surprise announcement, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on Thursday that the captured IAF pilot will be freed as a “goodwill gesture” on Friday.
The announcement from Pakistan after New Delhi made it clear that there will be no deal in this regard and demanded his unconditional, immediate and safe release.
The IAF pilot is likely to be released by Pakistan through the Wagah-Attari joint check-post, around 30 km from Amritsar.
Singh had earlier welcomed Imran Khan’s announcement as “a goodwill gesture that would help ease the prevailing tensions at the border.”
The Chief Minister is presently touring the border villages in Punjab, which share the border with Pakistan.
Singh has also extended all support on behalf of his government to the Border Security Force (BSF) to deal with the current situation in the aftermath of the IAF air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp at Balakot in Pakistan in the wee hours of Tuesday.
