New Delhi: Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthman is not the first Indian pilot who was abducted by Pakistan as a prisoner of war (PoW). There had been several such instances in the past as well.
In December 1971 Indo-Pak war, Pakistan abducted 12 IAF pilots as PoW.
The pilots abducted were Wg Cdr BA Coelho, Sqn Ldr DS Jafa, Sqn Ldr Kamat, Flt Lt Tejwant Singh, Flt Lt Bhargava, Flt Lt Dilip Parulkar, Flt Lt MS Grewal, Flt Lt Aditya Vikram Pethia, Fg Offr Chati, Fg Offr KC Kuruvilla, Fg Offr HND Mulla Feroze and Flight Lieutenant Dilip Parulkar.
Of these, Mulla Feroze was returned to India in February 1972 and Vikram in July 1972 on the sick and wounded list.
Besides, three IAF officers, Parulkar, Grewal and Sinhji, made a daring escape from a Rawalpindi jail on the midnight of August 13, 1972.
However, they were caught and turned over to the Rawalpindi camp. A few days later, they were transferred to Faisalabad jail before their repatriation.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto announced their repatriation along with other abducted IAF pilots.
On December 1, 1972, the IAF pilots were given a hero’s welcome at the Wagah border.
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