NEW DELHI: Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman had to face harassment while he was in captivity in Pakistan, according to reports. He was not physically tortured but was subjected to immense mental harassment at the hands of the Pakistani Army, sources said.
The officer spoke to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who visited him at the Army’s Research and Referral hospital on Saturday, about the mental trauma, they added. Speaking to TNIE, an Air Force officer said, “The officer was in a stressful condition for about 60 hours. Also, his back is hurt due to the ejection from the aircraft. He also had to run with his injured back after he landed in PoK.” The medical checkup is expected to be complete by Sunday after which debriefing will begin.
Explaining the procedure of debriefing, a senior officer said, “It is a standard operating procedure for anybody returning from enemy territory. The aim is to judge whether the person has been subjected to physical-mental trauma and to confirm that nothing has been planted on his body.”
Abhinandan was chasing Pakistan fighter jets when his aircraft was hit and he had to eject. He landed in PoK and was captured.
2 Pak soldiers killed in firing near LoC
The Pakistan Army on Saturday said that two of its soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire with Indian forces near the Line of Control. The soldiers were killed in the Nakiyal Sector, it said. Indian residents of Poonch, meanwhile, have accused Pakistani troops of targeting civilian areas
After inviting India, OIC ‘supports’ Pak
A day after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj spoke as a ‘guest of honour’ at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation foreign ministers’ plenary session in Abu Dhabi, the 57-member grouping of Islamic states on Saturday “supported” Pakistan on the Kashmir issue, Pakistan’s foreign office claimed