Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa (Retired) said he had promised to bring the Wing Commander back
New Delhi:
Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa (Retired) has said Pakistan had no choice but to release wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman, days after his MiG-21 was shot down in a dogfight in February last year. The Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot had also scored one kill, a Pakistani F-16, before his plane crashed in Pakistan and was captured.
The former IAF chief’s comments came after a Pakistani politician in his national assembly revealed how Pakistan’s chief of the army, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, was “shaking and sweating” during a meeting to discuss the capture of the commander of wing Varthaman.
A dogfight had broken out less than 24 hours after Indian planes bombed a camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group in Pakistan’s Balakot, in response to Jaish’s suicide attack on a convoy in Jammu and Pulwama of Kashmir that left 40 soldiers killed.
“Abhinandan’s father and I went back a long time. We took the flight instructor course together … When Abhinandan was captured … my flight commander Ahuja in the Kargil war, they captured him and shot him on the ground , so it was I told him, ‘Sir, I know we can’t get Ahuja back, but we will definitely get Abhinandan back,’ “Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa told the ANI news agency. Squad leader Ajay Ahuja, who was flying a MiG-21, was killed by Pakistani forces after his fighter plane was shot down by Pakistani forces in 1999.
In a speech at the National Assembly, Pakistan-N Muslim League leader Ayaz Sadiq said that Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had said at an important meeting that if Pakistan did not release the wing commander Varthaman , India would attack Pakistan “that night at 9 pm”. “I remember Shah Mahmood Qureshi was at the meeting where (Prime Minister) Imran Khan refused to attend and the Chief of the Army General Staff, General Bajwa, walked into the room, his legs were shaking and he was sweating. Foreign Minister said, for God’s sake, that Abhinandan go, India is about to attack Pakistan at 9 pm, “Sadiq related about the events of the meeting.
Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa said Pakistan was aware of India’s capabilities and that could have acted as a deterrent against any harm to Wing Commander Varthaman.
“There are two parts. The main pressure on Pakistan was diplomatic and political. But there was also a military stance, the way he (Mr Sadiq) is saying that ‘his (General Bajwa) legs were shaking and everything’, it was It is because the military posture was very offensive to the three services, Army, Navy, Air Force, “said the former IAF chief.
“And God forbid if they attacked our facilities on February 27, we were also in a position to take down their advance brigades. They know our capabilities. Basically, if there’s something on their mind that we’re likely to hit, first look at how it’s going to their own military. US President Theodore Roosevelt used to say, ‘Speak softly and carry a big club.’ So the big club was the military, “said Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa.
The former air chief marshal served in a MiG-21 squad with the father of wing commander Varthaman, who retired as an air marshal.
After healing from his injuries, Wing Commander Varthaman returned to the cabin less than six months after returning home from captivity.
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