A Pakistan MP in Parliament revealed that the Imran Khan Niazi government had abruptly released Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman fearing an attack by India.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Sardar Ayaz Sadiq recounted the tension within the Pakistan government in February last year while addressing the parliament. During the Parliament session, he said that Foreign Minister Qureshi had said in an important meeting that if Varthaman was not released, India would attack Pakistan “at 9 PM that night” and “for God’s sake we should let him go”.
Sadiq, who was the Speaker of the National Assembly during the PML-N government, also said that parliamentary leaders, including PML-N and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had asked to set Abhinandan free after India’s ultimatum to launch an attack to Pakistan at 9pm.
Dunya News quoted Sadiq as saying, “I remember Shah Mahmood Qureshi was in the meeting in which Imran Khan had refused to attend and Chief of Army Staff General Bajwa came into the room, his legs were shaking and he was perspiring. Foreign minister said for God`s sake let Abhinandan go, India`s about to attack Pakistan at 9 PM”, Sadiq recounted the events of the important meeting.”
As per Dunya News, Sadiq also said that the opposition has supported the government in all issues including Abhinandan but “will not be able to further support it”.
IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was captured by the Pak Army on February 27 after his MiG-21 Bison jet was shot down in a dogfight with Pakistani jets. The IAF jets had bombed the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror camps in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan, on February 26, 2019, avenging the Pulwama terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel.
