Abhinandan’s mannequin displayed in Pakistan museum angers Indians
New Delhi: Months after being released by Pakistan, Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman has had his mannequin displayed at museum in one of the country’s museum.
It came to light when journalist Anwar Lodhi posted a picture of the dummy of Indian pilot who was captured by Pakistani forces on February 27 after an aerial battle.
“PAF has put mannequin of Abhi Nandhan on display in the museum. This would be a more interesting display, if it they can arrange a Cup of FANTASTIC tea in his hand,”said Lodhi on Twitter, angering his Indian followers.
The tweet became source of many articles online, with Indian users criticizing Pakistani journalist for mocking the pilot.
The display at the PAF Karachi museum features a mug near Abhinandan’s mannequin in the photos that have gone viral on the Internet.
Lodhi posted the Tweet on November 9, the day when Pakistan opened Kartarpur Corridor for Sikh pilgrims from Indian side. It also coincided with Indian Supreme Court’s verdict in Babri Masjid case which saw Muslim losing their right on the disputed land in Ayodhya.
Abhinandan’s capture at the hands of Pakistani forces followed Indian strikes on Feb 26 in Pakistan’s Balakot area, with New Delhi claiming that the raids were conducted to destroy “terrorists camp” after a suicide bombing in Pulwama killed dozens of troops.
Pakistan, that had denied involvement in Pulwama attack, announced to retaliate on the timing and place of its choosing. And the very next day it shot down an Indian aircraft which Wing Commander Abhinandan was flying.
The stalemate brought the two nuclear armed nation to the brink of of war. In an effort to defuse the tensions, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced to release the Indian pilot a good well gesture.
Pakistani prime minister, in his speech on the occasion of Kartarpur Corridor inauguration, expressed the hope that Pakistan and India would one day achieve peace exactly like Germany and France did following decades of wars and bloodshed.
He said the only issue that was stopping the two countries from coming close to each other was Kashmir.
Khan asked his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to implement UN Security Council’s resolutions on Kashmir since leaders are supposed to unite people.