India's IAF hero Abhinandan Varthaman to be promoted to Group Captain from Wing Commander

Abhinandan Varthaman, the Indian Air Force ace pilot who became a hero in India after the dogfight between India and Pakistan on February 27, 2019,  on Wednesday was promoted to the rank of Group Captain from Wing Commander. The rank of Group Captain is equivalent to a Colonel in the Indian Army. 

Abhinandan was part of the Srinagar-based 51 squadron and had flown to thwart an aerial attack launched by the Pakistanis on February 27, 2019. Abhinandan's MiG-21 fighter was shot down after he took down a Pak F-16 and he ejected into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), where he was taken into custody by the Pakistan Army. However, the Pakistan Army was forced to release him due to the extensive pressure exerted by the Indian side along with the international intervention in the matter. 

'Returned IAF's Abhinandan Varthaman to cool down things': Pak PM Imran Khan 

In a speech delivered in Pakistan's national assembly,  Ayaz Sadiq of Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), recounted the events of a February 2019 meeting during which the Imran Khan government took the decision to free Abhinandan Varthaman. He said, "I remember Shah Mahmood Qureshi (Pakistan's Foreign Minister) was in the meeting which (Pakistan Prime Minister) Imran Khan had refused to attend and Chief of Army Staff General Bajwa came into the room, his legs were shaking and he was perspiring. The Foreign Minister said 'for God's sake let Abhinandan go, India's about to attack Pakistan at 9 pm'. 

However, still unwilling to accept, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in an interview to a Pak-based media house had tooted his own horns for 'returning'  Wing Commander Abhinandan in a bid to 'cool down things' with India. Pakistan's Prime Minister had called the dogfight between India and Pakistan, as Pakistan's retaliation to India for Balakot. 

IAF's Balakot air-strike

On February 26, a squadron of the IAF had crossed over to Pakistan and destroyed the largest JeM terrorist training camp in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to avenge the Pulwama terror attack which had been perpetrated by the Pakistan-based terror group and for which it took responsibility.

In the aftermath, Pakistan had first denied that any such airstrike had taken place, and then claimed that the IAF's bombs had missed their mark and hit a nearby forest, destroying trees and nothing more. However, after a few months, Imran Khan had conceded that India carried out the Balakot airstrike on Pakistani soil.