After nearly three days of captivity, IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman – who was captured by Pakistan, returned to India on Friday, 1 March.
While #BringBackAbhinandan trended across social media after reports of the IAF pilot being captured by Pakistan broke on 27 February, media outlets in Pakistan had a more sombre approach to the developments.
After Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that the country was releasing the pilot as a “gesture of peace”, some media reports said Khan was being lauded universally as a “true statesman”. Others sought to subvert Indian news reports that claimed Pakistan had “cracked under pressure.”
Here’s a look at how some of the Pakistani media reported on the IAF pilot’s return to India:
‘Thanks to Pakistan’s Magnanimity’
In a report, The Nation said that “there was hope and happiness at the famous Wagah border crossing on Friday night when hundreds of people witnessed a captured Indian pilot walking back to his homeland.”
While the article indulgently reported about the “spark in eyes and smile on (the) face" of the “immaculately dressed Indian Air Force officer”, it went on to note that the two countries were on the brink of war, which had been averted with the pilot’s release.
“The armed forces of Pakistan and India clashed for days and were almost on the brink of a full blown war, which now seems to have been averted – thanks to Pakistan’s magnanimity and world powers intervention.”
Indian Media ‘Spinning’ IAF Pilot’s Release as Diplomatic Victory
Taking a jibe, an article published by Pakistan’s oldest newspaper Dawn said that Indian media had tried to spin the news of Abhinandan’s release as a gesture of goodwill by Pakistan into a “diplomatic victory for New Delhi.”
“The gesture (releasing Abhinandan) was greeted with near unanimous support in the Parliament and has also been welcomed by civil society members in Pakistan and India. Indian media, however, has been spinning the release of Abhinandan as a diplomatic victory for Delhi,” read an excerpt from the Dawn article.
“Following the Indian government’s tall claims ─ most of which were reported by an incendiary Indian media citing unnamed sources ─ there were growing calls from Opposition parties for more information about just how successful the mission was,” the article added.
It went on to quote BJP President Amit Shah as saying, "We want to know the actual incident as we have not received any details." However, there was no citation as to where Shah had made those comments.
According to a Reuters report, Amit Shah had instead hit out at Indian Opposition parties for demanding more information about the strike and said, “People should decide if they trust India’s armed forces or not... those who are doubting are helping Pakistan.”
‘Rabid Jingoism in India’
The Express Tribune reported about Abhinandan’s release by calling it a "goodwill gesture" as "nuclear-armed neighbours scaled back a confrontation that has prompted world powers to urge restraint.”
In a related report, The Express Tribune said that sane voices were making themselves heard on Twitter, “amid rabid jingoism and fervent warmongering in India.”
It went on to say that “India’s mainstream media, especially electronic media” had been “baying for blood by whipping up war hysteria.” The story used tweets of Indian cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, journalist Barkha Dutt and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to shower praise on Khan.
The same story went on to talk about "India’s fictitious claims” about the air strike on Balakot and called them a "reckless violation of Pakistani airspace.”
‘India Whipped Up War Hysteria’
The language of an article in Pakistan Today also seemed to blame India for trying to portray the IAF pilot’s release as a diplomatic win for New Delhi whereas it had been due to the efforts of PM Imran Khan, it said.
The story used reports of Opposition parties in India blaming BJP leaders for politicising the issue ahead of the general elections.
“The international community, politicians, journalists and academics at both sides of the border embraced Imran as ‘true statesman’ after his government decided to free a captured pilot a day after detention. However, the Indian government and media, in contrast to the public’s reaction, portrayed it as India’s huge “diplomatic victory,” claiming that Pakistan had “cracked under pressure.” On the other hand, the Modi-led BJP government is also under fire from the Opposition for “blatant politicisation of the armed forces,” reads an excerpt.
The same story noted that Khan had allegedly offered India help in investigating the Pulwama terror attack but “India turned down the offer and whipped up war hysteria.”
Apart from these examples, other Pakistani media outlets also used the now-deleted video of Wing Commander Abhinandan before he was handed over to Indian authorities. In the video, which was uploaded by an official Twitter handle of the Pakistan government, the IAF pilot purportedly ‘castigated’ the Indian media.
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