A Pakistani MP who spoke in Parliament on Wednesday claimed that fearing an attack from India, the Imran Khan government had abruptly released Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who landed in Pakistani custody last February after a dogfight between Indian and Pakistani pilots.
In a speech at the National Assembly, the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), Ayaz Sadiq, said that Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had signaled at an important meeting that if Pakistan did not liberate Abhinandan Varthaman, India would attack Pakistan “that night before 9:00 pm”
Dunya News quoted Sadiq as making this claim in Parliament.
The PML-N leader told opposition leaders that Qureshi, in a meeting with parliamentary leaders, including the PPP and PML-N and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, had called for the release of Abhinandan.
“I remember that Shah Mahmood Qureshi was at the meeting that Imran Khan had refused to attend and the Chief of the Army Staff, General Bajwa, walked into the room, his legs were shaking and he was sweating. The Foreign Minister said, for the love of God, Abhinandan leave, that India is about to attack Pakistan at 9 pm, ”Sadiq related about the events of the important meeting.
Dunya News further quoted Sadiq as saying that the opposition has supported the government on all matters, including Abhinandan, but will not be able to support it further.
Wing Commander Varthaman rose to fame after shooting down a Pakistani F-16 aircraft, which had breached Indian airspace during a dogfight between the Indian and Pakistani air forces in February 2019 and in the process, his plane crossed to the Pakistani side and was shot down.
Abhinandan was returned to India from the Attari-Wagah border on March 1. (ANI)
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