Pakistan Major Behind Indian Pilot Abhinandan’s Capture Killed in Taliban Terror Clash

Six years after the capture and return of Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, Pakistani Major Moiz Abbas Shah—who was involved in the Indian pilot’s capture—was killed in a clash with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region.

Terming the TTP terrorists as “Indian-sponsored,” the Pakistani military issued a statement on Tuesday, saying: “The security forces killed 11 Indian-sponsored terrorists, while two security personnel were martyred during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in the South Waziristan district.”

Following the Pulwama terror attack on February 14, 2019, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed, the Indian Air Force launched an airstrike on Pakistan’s Balakot on February 26, targeting a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp.

The Pakistan Air Force retaliated on February 27, 2019, leading to an aerial dogfight. Abhinandan Varthaman, flying a MiG-21 Bison, is believed to have shot down a Pakistani F-16 fighter jet.

However, Abhinandan’s MiG-21 was also hit, and he ejected across the Line of Control (LoC) into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

He was captured by the Pakistani military, and a video of him—blindfolded and bleeding—was circulated online. It has since come to light that Pakistani Major Moiz Abbas Shah was involved in Abhinandan’s capture.

As Pakistan faced mounting international pressure, Wing Commander Abhinandan was released on February 28 as a “gesture of peace.” He was handed over to India at the Wagah-Attari border on March 1, 2019.