India-Pak LIVE: Pakistani FM boycotting OIC meet over invitation to Sushma

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced he had decided to send the IAF pilot back in the interest of peace. Catch LIVE updates on India-Pakistan conflict

12:57 PM

12:44 PM

Deputy Commissioner Shiv Dular Singh Dhillon, Amritsar: Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman will cross the border today, can't tell you exact time since there are certain formalities. A senior Indian Air force team from Delhi is here, they will be the ones to receive him.

12:42 PM

12:40 PM

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at the foreign ministers' meet of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Abu Dhabi. She will shortly address the session as the Guest of Honour. 

 

Swaraj is expected to raise the issue of terrorism at the meet.

12:36 PM

IAF pilot Abhinandan to be released at Wagah border

12:27 PM

Abhinandan's parents get standing ovation on board flight to Delhi

It may have been after midnight when the Chennai-Delhi flight came to a stop at the tarmac but there was no scramble to get bags from the overhead bin or rush towards the exit because all eyes were focused on one couple -- the parents of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman.

 

Air Marshal (retd) S Varthaman and Dr Shobha Varthaman were given a standing ovation as passengers made way for them in the early hours of Friday, ensuring that they couple gets off first.

12:23 PM

12:13 PM

Indian pilot will be released this afternoon: Qureshi

The Indian pilot will be released on Friday afternoon, as assured by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan: Pak Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

12:06 PM

Pakistani minister boycotts Islamic council meeting over Indian presence

Pakistan's foreign minister said on Friday he would not attend a meeting of foreign ministers from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Abu Dhabi this weekend because his Indian counterpart had been invited to the event.

 

"I will not go to the council of foreign ministers," Shah Mahmood Qureshi told parliament, adding that lower ranking officials would attend to represent Pakistan's interests.

11:57 AM

Qureshi said that Pakistan will take action against Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar if presented with "evidence that can stand in a court of law".

 

"If they have solid, inalienable evidence that is acceptable to courts of Pakistan, share it with us so that we can convince the people and we can convince the independent judiciary of Pakistan," Qureshi said.

 

"We need to satisfy the legal process," he said.

11:56 AM

IAF pilot's return our diplomatic victory: Amit Shah

BJP President Amit Shah Friday said creating situation for return of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman from Pakistan was a diplomatic victory, ahead of the expected arrival of the captured pilot.

 

Speaking at a media conclave, Shah said, "Creating situation for return of pilot Abhinandan in such a short span of time is our diplomatic victory".

11:48 AM

According to ANI, Abhinanadan Varthaman will be released this afternoon via Wagah.

11:47 AM

"He is in Pakistan, according to my information. He is unwell to the extent that he can't leave his house, because he's really unwell," Qureshi told CNN when asked about Azhar.
 

Azhar is the chief of JeM that claimed responsibility for the February 14 Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. India has been repeatedly trying to list him as a "global terrorist" by the UN. However, China, an ally of Pakistan, has blocked India's efforts by using veto.

11:43 AM

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has admitted that Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar is in Pakistan

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has admitted that Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar is in Pakistan

11:35 AM

Every time we are attacked, we will retaliate: Amit Shah

11:30 AM

11:13 AM

Why Pakistan denied using F16s against India

The US sale of the Lockheed Martin Corp. jets to Pakistan mandates that they be flown only for counter-terrorism operations, according to Rahul Bedi, a New Delhi-based analyst with Janes Information Services. The planes can’t be used against any other country, he said.

11:10 AM

China cancels all flights to and from Pakistan in view of Indo-Pak tensions

China has cancelled all flights to and from Pakistan and rerouted its international aircraft flying over the Pakistani airspace due to the regional tensions, official media here reported on Friday.

 

The closure of Pakistan's airspace in response to escalating tensions with India disrupted major routes between Europe and South East Asia and left thousands of air travellers stranded worldwide.

 

Flights from the Middle East that usually overfly Pakistan and the Pakistan-India border will have to re-route over India, Myanmar or central Asia to enter China, civil aviation experts told Global Times.

11:08 AM

BJP has never politicised national security issue: Amit Shah

11:04 AM

Yeddyurappa's comment was an analysis of the situation, but he should not have said so: Amit Shah

Karnataka BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa was criticised over his comment that that India's air strike on a terror camp in Pakistan on Tuesday has created a wave in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will help the party win over 22 of 28 seats in the state in the national election due by May.

10:59 AM

Maximum number of terrorists have been eliminated under BJP govt led by Modi, said Amit Shah.

Maximum number of terrorists have been eliminated under BJP govt led by Modi, said Amit Shah.

10:59 AM

Track record of our govt has been best in dealing with terror since Independence: Amit Shah

10:56 AM

Why has Imran Khan not condemned Pulwama attack, asks Amit Shah

10:48 AM

UN chief welcomes Pakistan's offer to release IAF pilot

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday welcomed Pakistan's offer to release Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured when his MiG-21 went down in Pakistan-occupied territory. His Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters: "The report of the release of the Indian pilot by the Pakistani authorities would be very much a welcome step. We would encourage both parties to do whatever they can to de-escalate the situation." Guterres has been in contact with both sides at various levels, Dujarric said.

10:47 AM

After airstrikes, terrorists now know India will give a response: Amit Shah

10:22 AM

Abhinandan's parents, Air Marshal S Varthaman (Retired) and mother Shobha Varthaman, who is a doctor, were cheered by passengers when they boarded a flight from Chennai to New Delhi on Thursday evening

10:21 AM

Scores of people assemble in Attari to welcome IAF pilot

People started arriving in Attari, around 30 km from Sikh holy city of Amritsar, since 6 am. The numbers swelled by 9 am, according to IANS.

 

"We have come here to welcome our country's hero back home. We will give him a grand welcome. He showed a lot of bravery in the air combat and even after being captured by the Pakistanis," Jitender, a resident of Amritsar, who arrived here with his friends, said.

10:10 AM

“India is the last country in the world with a serious airforce to still fly the MiG 21s,” Pushpinder Singh, founding editor of the Vayu Aerospace and Defence Review, told IndiaSpend. “The poor young man who flew the aircraft against an F-16 didn’t stand a chance… [He] is now a prisoner of war and it is a national shame that in 2019 we are still flying these planes.”...Read on

10:09 AM

"The MiG-21 Bison that Abhinandan Varthaman was flying when he was downed by a Pakistan Air Force F-16 was well past its retirement age"

The MiG-21 Bison that Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was flying when he was downed by a Pakistan Air Force F-16 was well past its retirement age, and kept alive with repeated upgrades and service life extensions, experts told IndiaSpend.

9:51 AM

Air Canada resumes flights to India after brief suspension

Air Canada, which had temporarily suspended its India flights, has now announced to resume it.

 

Flights to Delhi will resume tonight from both Toronto (AC 42 February 28) and Vancouver (AC 44 March 1, it leaves shortly after midnight local time).

 

"Our flexible rebooking policy for customers remains in place. Information will be updated on the official Air Canada website as it becomes available. We are working to move all customers from yesterday," Canada's flag carrier said in a statement.

 

Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, Air Canada had temporarily suspended its flight services to India, following a decision by the Pakistan government to close its airspace.

 

Air Canada cancelled one flight to New Delhi from Vancouver, while another flight en route to India was turned back to Toronto.

 

Air Canada operates daily service from Toronto and Vancouver to New Delhi and four times weekly between Toronto and Mumbai.