A video of perhaps the first public appearance of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, the Indian fighter pilot whose warplane was downed during the 27 February aerial engagement between Pakistani and Indian warplanes over Kashmir, after his discharge from hospital, was recently posted on social media.
First video since he was discharged from hospital, here’s Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman taking pictures with men. This is likely sometime last month. Video from some Air Force groups. He looks well! 👊🏽 pic.twitter.com/Os5Pu6aJI1
— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) 4 мая 2019 г.
In the recording, Varthaman can be seen mingling with Indian servicemen and taking pictures with them.
The incident involving the IAF and the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) took place on 27 February, when the Indian Air Force conducted an airstrike on an alleged Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist camp in Balakot. Pakistan said that it downed two IAF MiG-21 planes. According to the Indian government, the country lost only one plane and its forces succeeded in downing a PAF F-16.
After being shot down in that engagement, Varthaman managed to eject and was subsequently captured by Pakistani forces, to be safely returned back to India a few days later in what Islamabad described as a "peace gesture".
