DG ISPR calls political statement about Abhinandan release an attempt to ‘distort history’

The Pakistani military has dismissed as nothing more than an “attempt to distort history” a recent political statement given about the release of an Indian pilot captured by Pakistani troops after downing his warplane during last year’s military confrontation that took the two countries to the brink of an all-out war.

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was arrested after his MiG-21 Bison was shot down by Pakistani jets in a dogfight after it crossed the Line of Control in Azad Jammu and Kashmir on February 29, 2019. However, the government released him 60 hours after his arrest as a “gesture of peace”.

“A statement was given yesterday [Wednesday] which tried to distort the history of issues associated with national security,” Major General Babar Iftikhar, the director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said at an unscheduled televised presser convened “to set the records straight” vis-à-vis Feb 2019 military standoff with India.

The military spokesperson wouldn’t give details of the “political statement”. However, senior PML-N lawmaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq claimed on Wednesday that Abhinandan had been released because the PTI “government feared an attack from India”.

Sadiq’s “revelation” during his speech in parliament immediately went viral on social media in India with their TV channels flashing it to mock the Pakistani military. Alarmed by what he called “misreporting and misquoting” by Indian media, Sadiq had to issue a video message to clarify what he claim to have said on the floor of National Assembly.

The military spokesperson said “it is extremely disappointing and misleading to link Wing Commander Abhinandan’s release with anything other than a mature response of a responsible state”. This, he added, was an attempt to create doubts about Pakistani nation’s clear victory over India in the Feb 29 air battle. “And this is not acceptable to any Pakistani.”

“Such negative narrative directly affects national security and the enemy is taking full advantage of such things in the information domain and you all can see glimpses of this in the Indian media,” he said while referring to the frenzied coverage of Sadiq’s statement in the Indian media.

“This same narrative is being used to downplay India’s defeat and loss,” he added. “In these circumstances when the enemy has imposed a hybrid war on Pakistan, all of us will have to move forward with great responsibility.”

Giving recap of the Feb 2019 events, the military spokesperson said, “We gave them a bloody nose and it is still hurting.” He added that following the Pulwama suicide bombing, India showed aggression against Pakistan in violation of all international laws on Feb 26, but had to face military humiliation.

Indian warplanes violated Pakistan’s airspace to carry out air strikes but dropped their payloads in an uninhibited area of the mountainous region of Balakot when challenged by Pakistani warplanes. At the time, Delhi claimed that the “airstrike” destroyed “terrorist camps and killed dozens of terrorists”. However, it was left red-faced when the Pakistani military immediately gave local and international media access to the bombsite to expose India’s brazen lies.

“The timely response of Pakistan’s alert armed forces frustrated enemy’s designs. The enemy jets that had intruded into Pakistan’s airspace to drop bombs on Pakistani people escaped while dropping their payload on empty mountains in panic after seeing our eagles,” he said while referring to Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighter jets.

The Pakistani forces then “decided to teach the enemy a lesson in retaliation” for the airspace violation. “Pakistan responded in broad daylight. Not only did we give them a befitting response, but also shot down their two jets [and] Wing Commander Abhinandan was captured.”

Further, the military spokesperson said that Indian forces were so frightened by Pakistan’s reprisal that they shot down their own helicopter in panic. He added that Pakistan's victory was acknowledged by the world while the Indian military leadership had to attribute their failure to the absence of Rafale fighter jets.

“As a responsible state, Pakistan decided to release Indian prisoner of war Abhinandan in order to give peace another chance,” he added, emphasising that this decision, which was in line with the Geneva Convention, was praised globally.

Sadiq’s “revelation” is the latest in a series of statements made by opposition leaders from the platform of Pakistan Democratic Movement, a grouping cobbled together by nearly a dozen parties against the incumbent government of Premier Imran Khan which they allege is propped up by the security establishment.

Leading the chorus is Nawaz Sharif, the disgraced former prime minister who has been declared a proclaimed offender by courts, and his political heir apparent Maryam Nawaz.

When asked about some “recent statements which might create a rift between the military leadership and soldiers”, Maj Gen Iftikhar said: “Pakistan’s Armed Forces are an organised and disciplined institution and its leadership and rank and file cannot be separated.”

“No differences could be created between the leadership and the rank and file. There is a unity and it will remain,” he added.