By Niha Masih, March 1, 2019<\/p>\n
NEW DELHI \u2014 He parachuted out over enemy territory. Fired in the air to keep back angry locals. Jumped into a pond and then destroyed documents by eating them.<\/p>\n
Ever since Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, an Indian fighter pilot, crashed in Pakistani territory on Wednesday, the story of his survival has transfixed a nation.<\/p>\n
Now his safe return to India is helping defuse one of the worst crises to erupt in decades between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.<\/p>\n
Late Friday, Varthaman crossed into India on foot at the Wagah border crossing with Pakistan. Under bright floodlights, he stepped through the towering metal gate that separates the two countries and shook hands with security officials on the Indian side.<\/p>\n
It was a hero\u2019s welcome: Hundreds of Indians awaited Varthaman\u2019s arrival all day, waving the national flag and holding garlands of flowers they hoped to drape around his neck. Television anchors choked with emotion as they described the scene. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the pilot home on Twitter, saluting his \u201cexemplary courage.\u201d <\/a><\/p>\n Varthaman\u2019s plane was hit Wednesday morning in the first aerial dogfight between India and Pakistan in nearly 50 years. He was subsequently captured by the Pakistani military, a particularly dramatic development in an already volatile conflict between the two nations. Countries around the world, including the United States, worked to ease the tensions.<\/p>\n In a scene that could have come from a movie, Varthaman parachuted out of his flaming plane, according to several<\/a> media outlets<\/a>, including the BBC and Dawn, Pakistan\u2019s leading English newspaper. Upon discovering he was in Pakistan, Varthaman ran backward, the reports said, firing his pistol in the air to ward off angry locals.<\/p>\n When they got too close, he jumped into a pond and destroyed sensitive documents and maps by swallowing some and soaking others before he was captured.<\/p>\n On Thursday afternoon, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that his country<\/a> would return Varthaman to India as a \u201cpeace gesture.\u201d The move immediately lowered tensions between India and Pakistan after two days of hostilities that began when India launched an airstrike<\/a> on Tuesday on what it said was a terrorist training camp within Pakistan.<\/p>\n [<\/i>Listen on Post Reports: India bureau chief Joanna Slater on the India-Pakistan crisis<\/i><\/a>]<\/i><\/p>\n The atmosphere of anxiety eased further on Friday. Pakistan partially reopened its airspace after two days of closures to allow travel to four major cities. Indian authorities affirmed that national elections due in April and May would be held on schedule.<\/p>\n Experts said Varthaman, a 38-year-old from the South Indian city of Chennai, will undergo a detailed debrief and medical checkup.<\/p>\n Indians have closely followed every twist and turn in Varthaman\u2019s saga this week. An alleged video of his initial capture shows him being dragged from the crash site as enraged locals attempt to hit him. A Pakistani soldier is heard asking people to stop.<\/p>\n A second, more controversial video that may run afoul of Geneva Conventions<\/a> was tweeted by Pakistan\u2019s Information Ministry. The clip showed the blindfolded pilot with a bloodied face, answering questions calmly while in Pakistani custody.<\/p>\n After the Foreign Ministry in India \u201cstrongly objected to Pakistan\u2019s vulgar display of an injured personnel,\u201d the Pakistan military posted a fresh video saying the pilot was being treated \u201cas per norms of military ethics.\u201d<\/p>\n Seen sipping a cup of tea, Varthaman declines to answer any question on his operation or aircraft details, while praising his treatment by the Pakistani army. Spoken like a \u201ctrue soldier,\u201d his father Simhakutty Varthaman said in a statement.<\/p>\n In a final video purportedly shot before Varthaman\u2019s release<\/a> shared by Pakistan\u2019s Information Ministry, he praises the Pakistani army for being \u201cvery professional.\u201d He also criticizes Indian media outlets for unnecessarily stoking emotions with their coverage.<\/p>\n Flying runs in the family: Varthaman\u2019s father, now retired, was a decorated senior officer in the Indian air force who reached the rank of air marshal. In an ironic twist, Simhakutty Varthaman once advised a filmmaker who made a movie about a pilot jailed in Pakistan<\/a> after being captured in war. In the movie, the hero is ultimately reunited with his family.<\/p>\n After the capture, his father had expressed hope for his son\u2019s safe return and said the family was praying that he \u201cdoes not get tortured.\u201d On Thursday night, the pilot\u2019s parents flew to Delhi ahead of their son\u2019s release. As passengers on the flight realized who the couple was, they burst out in applause and cheers.<\/p>\n Varthaman, the son, appeared on a popular Indian television show eight years ago with several other fighter pilots. The hosts asked the guests what the main prerequisite was to be a fighter pilot. \u201cAttitude,\u201d said one. \u201cBad attitude,\u201d<\/a> added Varthaman with a smile.<\/p>\n Even as India and Pakistan traded charges over the last two days, Varthaman\u2019s behavior in captivity united people from both sides of the border, mostly in praise. Videos of his capture and questioning were shared by thousands on social media. Pakistani citizens joined the chorus asking their government to return Varthaman as a gesture of peace.<\/p>\n This is not the first time that an Indian pilot has been captured by Pakistan. In 1999, the rivals fought a brief but intense conflict high in the Himalayas. In that clash, known as the Kargil conflict, India deployed fighter jets but Pakistan did not.<\/p>\n During the fighting, an Indian fighter pilot named Kambampati Nachiketa was captured by Pakistani forces. Nachiketa said he was tortured during his eight days of captivity, after which he was released.<\/p>\n Joanna Slater contributed reporting.<\/i><\/p>\n