advertisement
Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was handed over to the Indian authorities by Pakistan on Friday, 1 March, after being held captive for more than two days.
Soon after he crossed the Attari-Wagah border, Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor told the media that he will be taken for a “detailed” medical checkup.
Varthaman was held captive by Pakistan after his MIG-21 Bison took a hit while intercepting Pakistani F-16 aircraft.
Upon his return, India is expected to follow a number of protocols and procedures before he can return to normal life.
The Quint talked to Senior Defence Expert Manoj Joshi, who confirmed that a prisoner of war (PoW) goes through these procedures:
According to a Firstpost article, apart from the medical checkup, an IAF committee will try to reconstruct to “gauge Pakistan's preparedness”.
CNN News18, citing Retired Lt General HS Panag, said that upon return, the PoW is first disarmed and then interrogated in order to acquire “whatever information can be acquired from him”.
According to the News18 report, the pilot may also undergo psychological tests, too, in case he has been tortured by the Pakistan Army to extract information.
The FirstPost report quoted Colonel Vivek Chadha of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), saying that the procedure could take anywhere between a day to one week.
Since Abhinandan is a serving officer, he will then be sent back to work as soon as the debriefing is done.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)