Days after Indian Air Force (IAF) hero Abhinandan Varthaman returned to India with all his pride and glory from Pakistan, a video of the IAF Wing Commander trolling Pakistani Army while in their custody is going viral on social networking sites. In the video, released by the Pakistani troops, Abhinandan can be seen talking to their cops inside a jeep and the conversation between them has yet again showed the exemplary amount of his courage and bravery in Pakistani soil.
Being asked about his views about the Pakistani Army, Abhinandan replied, "I hold the Pak army in very high regard and I was hoping there would be a Pak army officer who would get me… I know the Pakistani army is also of soldiers… that is why the first question I asked you was 'are you from the regular army'?".
The hard-hitting reply clearly proved that the Wing Commander was neither worried nor down despite the Pakistani captivity during the fierce engagement between the air forces of the two countries along the Line of Control (LoC) on February 27. Varthaman was in Pakistan's custody for over 60 hours before he was handed over to the Indian authorities through the Zero Line at the Attari-Wagah joint check-post on Friday night.
Huge crowds thronged to the Attari-Wagah border to receive their hero, holding flags, garlands and dancing and cheering. The Wing Commander’s homecoming inspired many hashtags on social media, including #AbhinandanWelcomeHome, #AbhinandanMyHero among others.
Varthaman's homecoming is considered to be a major step towards defusing a near-war situation triggered by India's retaliation over Pakistan's continued support for terrorism. He was captured on February 27 by Pakistan following a dogfight between the two air forces in which his MIG-21 was shot down. There were also reports that Varthaman was subjected to mental trauma during his near 60-hour-long captivity.