Current Affairs - Persons - Discussion

Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was captured by Pakistani military on 27 February after his MiG-21 jet was shot down in PoK (Pakistan occupied Kashmir). After the pilot's release, the Pakistan Foreign Office described him as a Prisoner of War. Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up when 40 CRPF personnel were killed and many injured on February 14 in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Pulwama district. Indian Air Force carried out a counter-terror operation in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26 and destroyed major camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), which itself claimed responsibility for the Pulwama massacre. Varthaman was in one of the eight MIG-21s that took on the invader and shot down Pakistan's F-16.