Author: Jeffrey Gettleman and Suhasini Raj / Source: New York Times
Amit Dave/Reuters
NEW DELHI — When an Indian fighter pilot who had been captured by Pakistan was released on Friday, it capped a humiliating episode for India and a surreal week for him.
First the pilot, Wing Cmdr. Abhinandan Varthaman, was soaring through the sky in a MiG-21 on Wednesday.
Then he was shot down by Pakistani forces.After parachuting into enemy territory and being surrounded by a mob, he tried to eat some of the documents he was carrying, according to Indian news media reports. He was then badly beaten before being rescued by Pakistani troops.
But that wasn’t the end of it. Over the next few days, videos of him being interrogated in Pakistani custody spread on social media around the world.
In one, Wing Commander Varthaman is blindfolded, hands tied behind his back, face still bloody. In another, he is cleaned up and drinking tea.
With his dark handlebar mustache and stoic demeanor, the wing commander, 35, became the face of India and Pakistan’s conflict over the disputed Kashmir region, and a major prize in a geopolitical battle.
Over the past week, the escalation of hostilities, including aerial dogfights and heavy shelling along the border between Pakistan and India — both of which are nuclear powers — set South Asia on edge.
But those tensions eased Friday evening as Wing Commander Varthaman was released shortly after 9:20 p.m. local time.
He walked through a border checkpoint wearing a blue sport coat and white dress shirt, unbuttoned at the neck, and gray slacks. He seemed relaxed. Indian border guards shook his hand and whisked him away. Then he disappeared in a convoy of Indian government vehicles.
He had been scheduled to emerge hours earlier at 5 p.m., and Indian officials said…
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