Pakistan frees captured pilot in 'gesture of peace'

WAGAH, Pakistan -- Pakistan handed over a captured Indian air force pilot to Indian officials at a border crossing Friday, a "gesture of peace" by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan aimed at defusing a dramatic escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbors over the disputed region of Kashmir.

The pilot, identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, walked across the border near the Pakistani town of Wagah after being taken in a convoy earlier in the day from the eastern city of Lahore, escorted by military vehicles and soldiers, their weapons drawn. Dressed in a blue blazer and gray dress pants, he was greeted by Indian policemen and military personnel on the Indian side.

The freed pilot was scheduled to undergo a detailed medical exam before boarding a flight from Amritsar, near the India-Pakistan border, to New Delhi for a debriefing with top air force officials about his captivity.

"The nation is proud of your exemplary courage," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet.

The Pakistani military has said it shot down Varthaman's MiG-21 fighter jet on the Pakistani-held side of Kashmir on Wednesday and the pilot safely ejected.

In a message aired on Pakistani television, Varthaman was seen in his green flight suit saying he was rescued by two Pakistani military personnel when he ejected and found himself in Pakistani-controlled territory surrounded by a group of angry residents. It was not clear when he recorded the statement, but it clearly happened while he was in the custody of the Pakistani military.

Varthaman was accompanied to the border Friday by the International Committee of the Red Cross. His handover took several hours as procedures including a checkup to verify his health and medical condition were completed before he was turned over to Indian officials.

The handover came against the backdrop of blistering cross-border attacks across the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir continuing for a fourth straight day, even as the two nuclear-armed neighbors sought to defuse their most serious confrontation in two decades.