Three years on, Pakistani Twitter celebrates a happy fantastic tea day

#SurpriseDay is once again trending on the micro-blogging site with memes pouring in alongside prayers for Ukraine.

Three years on, Pakistanis are wishing their fellow Indian neighbours a happy fantastic tea day to mark the country's ‘swift retort’ against the Balakot airstrike, conducted by Indian warplanes on February 26, 2019.

For the unversed, Pakistan shot down two Indian aircrafts violating its airspace on February 27, capturing Indian Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. The response is celebrated annually, unearthing a trove of memes featuring Abhinandan's video which sees him appreciate the treatement he received by the Pakistani military and also praise the tea he was served. “Tea is fantastic,” he is heard saying in the clip.

"I'd like to put this on record: I will not change my statement even when I go back to my country. The officers of the Pakistan Army have looked after me very well, starting from the captain who rescued me from the mob, from the soldiers, and thereafter, the officers of the unit I was taken to. I would expect my army to behave in the same way. And I'm very impressed with the Pakistan Army," he tells his co-pilots in India through the video message. When an officer probes, "I hope you like the tea?" Abhinandan replies, "The tea is fantastic, thank you."

Abhinandan was allowed to return to India as a gesture of peace on March 1 but Pakistanis have since been sipping on the joke that doesn’t seem to lose its taste. And while reactions have been dull, due to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, hashtag #SurpriseDay is trending on the micro-blogging site with memes pouring in alongside prayers.

Singer and host Fakhr e Alam tweeted Sunday morning: "Wishing you all a very Happy Fantastic Tea Day. A gentle reminder that we serve fantastic tea on the dialogue table as well. So, the choice is yours, [whether] you want to pay with a plane and a pilot or just have a nice talk and sip on tea for free."

Wishing you all a very Happy Fantastic Tea Day….just a gentle reminder we serve fantastic tea on the dialogue table as well…so the choice is yours…you wanna pay with a plane & a pilot or just have a nice talk & sip the tea for FREE… #SwiftRetortDay #Swiftretort pic.twitter.com/qC1rTmKbVG

— Fakhr-e-Alam (@falamb3) February 27, 2022

"Stay home, stay safe," advised a user.

Stay home stay safe #SurpriseDay #IndianAirForce pic.twitter.com/tcX3sH9j0K

— Faisal Rao (@FaisalRao92) February 26, 2022

As per almost tradition now, many reminded each other of the price Abhinandan had to pay for the "fantastic tea".

The most expensive tea☕ in a history #SurpriseDay#ISPR pic.twitter.com/meGLHPRdTQ

— Ijaz Ahmad (@ImIjazAhmad) February 27, 2022

Pakistani tea is very fantastic but also very expensive۔
Abhinandan😊
- *27 Feb 22*#WorldFantasticTeaDay#SurpriseDay#SurpriseWithFantasticTea pic.twitter.com/zOJ7f3NxLv

— Amna Aman (@AmanHarris) February 26, 2022

Some also lauded the real man of the match.

Man of the Match
On#SurpriseDay pic.twitter.com/8idpXIdnfy

— شفقت چوہدری (@Shafqatmm) February 26, 2022

"Just a reminder," wrote a user with a picture worth a thousand words.

Just a Reminder 😌😌#BalakotAirStrike#BalakotAirstrikeDay#IndianAirForce #SurpriseDay pic.twitter.com/waJEKq7V92

— Might is Right (@Faisalrao0077) February 26, 2022

Others are still busy appreciating the art.

#SurpriseDay
The art The artist 😀 pic.twitter.com/dch0oOdPZ5

— Dr.Madiha Mudassir (@MudassirMadiha) February 26, 2022

While several are pointing out, "Today, if our situation is not like Ukraine's, then there is a uniform behind it."

#SurpriseDay
Today, if our situation is not like Ukraine's, then there is a uniform وردی behind it
پاک فوج زندہ باد pic.twitter.com/Ioa5ohXxfA

— عامل بابا (@aamil123) February 26, 2022

Many are simultaneously praying for Ukrainian lives as Russian forces break through Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, where street fighting is now taking place, as per AlJazeera. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is ready for peace talks but not in Moscow’s preferred venue of Belarus. Russian strikes have also targetted Ukrainian oil and gas facilities, igniting a depot near the capital, Kyiv.

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