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Suspense crime, Digital Desk : In a stunning public admission, Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, has confirmed that his country released captured Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman in 2019 following a direct and imminent threat of missile strikes from India.

Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, Dar revealed the intense, high-stakes drama that unfolded behind the scenes on the night of February 27, 2019. He stated that India, through its National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, had delivered an ultimatum: if the captured pilot was not released, India was prepared to launch nine missiles targeting Pakistan by 9 PM that evening.

"At 9 PM that night, India was about to fire nine missiles at us," Dar disclosed, adding, "and we had also prepared our missiles in response... There would have been a terrible war."

This confrontation followed a rapid escalation of hostilities between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. The crisis began with the Pulwama terrorist attack on February 14, 2019, which prompted India to conduct a retaliatory airstrike on a terror camp in Balakot, Pakistan, on February 26. The next day, an aerial dogfight over the Line of Control resulted in Wing Commander Varthaman's plane being shot down, and he was subsequently captured by Pakistani forces.

Dar's statement is the most high-level official confirmation from Pakistan to date about the coercive diplomacy and military pressure exerted by New Delhi to secure its pilot's safe return. The threat of missile attacks, which some reports have dubbed 'Operation Sindoor,' effectively forced Pakistan's hand, leading to the announcement of Varthaman's release as a "peace gesture." He was returned to India on March 1, 2019.

This revelation underscores the critical role of back-channel communications and military brinkmanship in de-escalating the conflict, which had pushed the subcontinent to the verge of a major war.


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