Abhinandan is Back Home, But Why the Delay in Crossing Border?

The IAF pilot’s return to India was delayed by several hours on Friday, 1 March.

From being taken to shoot a last minute video to ‘documentation issues’, several reasons are being cited for the delay.

(Illustration: Shruti Mathur/ The Quint)

IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured by Pakistan, returned to India on Friday night, 1 March, but the handover was delayed for hours after it was originally scheduled to have taken place.

Since then, several theories and reasons behind the delay in handing over the Indian Air Force pilot have emerged:

Reason 1: The 'Edited' Video

A prominent reason being cited is a video that Abhinandan was reportedly made to shoot before his release by Pakistan at around 8.30 pm on Friday. According to PTI sources, at the last minute, Pakistani authorities took the IAF pilot to record a statement on camera before allowing him to cross the border.

According to a report in the The Times of India, after Abhinandan was brought to Lahore, he was taken to an ISI establishment where he was kept for several hours. He was also made to record his statement on video, where he talked about his treatment by the Pakistani authorities. Quoting officials, the report added that Abhinandan was also made to record the statement in writing.

An official told the daily that this “confession” that was extracted from Abhinandan was “done under duress and had only undermined Pakistan’s peace gesture.”

The seemingly edited video, which was tweeted by the Pakistan government, was taken down after backlash.

Reason 2: ‘Procedural Delays’

According to an NDTV report, "procedural delays and documentation problems" were cited by Pakistani authorities as the reason behind the delay.

Pakistan had earlier rejected Indian's request to transport Abhinandan from the country via a special IAF aircraft, stating that its air space had been closed for operation. Pakistan then communicated to India, on the night of 28 February, that the pilot would be handed over at the Wagah-Attari border near Amritsar.

According to TOI, India had sought clearance for both Islamabad and Lahore, depending on Pakistan’s preference.

Reason 3: The 'Cancelled' Beating Retreat

A Zee News report claims that Pakistan delayed the IAF pilot’s return as "revenge strategy" after India cancelled the beating retreat ceremony.

Quoting sources, the report states that Pakistan Rangers had informed BSF officials at the Wagah-Attari border that the handover would take place at 5 pm as Islamabad "wanted maximum media attention during the handover due to India's Beating Retreat ceremony at the time."

However, when India cancelled the Beating Retreat ceremony, Pakistan resorted to deliberately delaying the handover, the report quotes sources as saying.

It is, however, notable, that no other media report has confirmed this incident.