'Abhi is alive, not injured, sound in mind': Captured IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman's father hopes for his safe return

Veteran Air Marshal and father of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, an IAF pilot who was captured by Pakistani troops on Wednesday , on Thursday thanked people for their concern and wishes, CNN-News18 reported. [caption id=“attachment_6102931” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image of an Army soldier. Reuters[/caption] “I thank God for his blessings. Abhi is alive, not injured, sound in mind. Just look at the way he talked so bravely. A true soldier. We are so proud of him. I am sure all your hands and blessings are on his head; prayers for his safe return. I pray that he does not get tortured, and comes home safe and sound in body and mind. Thank you all for being with us in this hour of need. We draw our strengths from your support and energy,” the news channel quoted veteran Air Marshal Varthaman as saying. Varthaman Senior, who last served as Eastern Air Command chief, had even seen action during Kargil, The Times of India reported. An experienced test pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours on 40 types of aircraft to his credit, Varthaman senior had joined the IAF as a fighter pilot in 1973. The newspaper quoted the IAF as saying in 2011: “During the Kargil conflict, Varthaman was the chief operations officer of Gwalior where he used his flight test experience to coordinate the upgradation of the Mirage 2000 aircraft that proved instrumental in the success of the air campaign.” Also read on Firstpost: Wing Commander Abhinandan's poise in Pakistan captivity is commendable; a true officer and a gentleman Pakistan claimed that it had arrested Abhinandan on Wednesday , and also said that its air force had shot down two Indian aircraft. Pakistani jets had violated the Indian airspace in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch and Rajouri sectors. PAF fighters reportedly dropped bombs at Nadian, Laam Jhangar and Kerri in Rajouri district and in the Hamirpur area of Bhimber Gali in Poonch, at about 10 am. Following the arrest, Twitter users began urging the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government to pull out all stops to bring him back home to India. Many also expressed hope that Pakistan will grant the IAF pilot relevant protections under the Geneva Convention . Reports had said that Pakistan’s attack was in retaliation to an airstrike carried out by India on Tuesday, in which “a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and jihadis were eliminated”,  said Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale . Follow LIVE updates on the ongoing India-Pakistan conflict