Former judge of the Indian Supreme Court, Markandey Katju has expressed his appreciation for Prime Minister Imran Khan after listening to his “wise and restrained speech” about de-escalating Pak-India tensions.
Katju spoke out on Twitter saying that he was previously not a fan of the cricketer-turned-politician, however, this was no longer the case now.
Great gesture by @ImranKhanPTI & Pak Government to release the IAF pilot.
“The only purpose of our strike was to demonstrate our capability and will…We did not want to inflict any casualty on India as we wanted to act in a responsible manner.” PM Khan.— Raza Ahmad Rumi (@Razarumi) February 28, 2019
On Thursday, PM Imran had announced that the government would release captured Indian pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman on Friday (March 1) as a ‘peace gesture’.
Addressing a a joint session of parliament, the prime minister said Pakistan’s desire for de-escalation should not be confused as weakness.
“I reached out to New Delhi after assuming charge as prime minister. I wrote to Narendra Modi and suggested a meeting between the foreign ministers on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. But we did not get a positive response,” he said.
Abhinandan Varthaman was captured soon after he descended by parachute after bailing out from his disintegrating aircraft. The PAF shot down two IAF aircraft, and the wreckage of the second aircraft fell in Indian-occupied Kashmir on Wednesday.
