On March 1, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman walked his way to freedom much to the delight of his countrymen. Meanwhile, a family in Pakistan is in mourning.
Pakistan Air Force Wing Commander Shahaz-ud-Din, the F-16 pilot shot down in a dogfight over the Nowshera sector, is reported to have been lynched by a mob who mistook him for an Indian airman, according to Firstpost.
Both men hail from military families. Wing Commander Varthaman’s father, S Varthaman, as Air Marshal; Shahaz-ud-Din’s father, Waseem-ud-Din, is also an Air Marshal of the Pakistan Air Force, who has flown F-16 and Mirages, it says.
The news that Shahaz-ud-Din's plane was shot down was first reported by London-based lawyer Khalid Umar. He says he received it from individuals related to the F-16 pilot’s family.
These sons engaged each other in the air. Abhinandan was taken a prisoner of war and has returned home. Shahaz-ud-Din, on the other hand, was killed by his own people.
According to Umar’s account, Shahaz-ud-Din parachuted safely. He was then attacked by a mob after the F-16 crash-landed — possibly in the Laam valley, stretching out westward from Naushehra into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Shahaz-ud-Din, Umar has claimed, was hospitalised, but succumbed to his injuries, adds Firstpost.