User:Anaguaydf/sandbox

Capture
On 27 February 2019, Varthaman was flying a MiG-21 that was scrambled to intercept an intrusion into Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistani aircraft. In the dogfight that ensued, Varthaman tried to cross the Pakistan territory and his aircraft was struck by a missile. Varthaman ejected and safely descended into the village of Horran in Pakistan administered Kashmir, approximately 7 km from the Line of Control. while another Indian aircraft, which was also shot by PAF, was fell into Indian-administered Kashmir.

Local villagers said Varthaman could be identified as an Indian pilot by the Indian flag on his parachute. Upon landing, Varthaman asked the villagers whether he was in India, to which a young boy said yes. Varthaman reportedly said pro-India slogans, to which the locals responded with pro-Pakistan slogans. Varthaman began to run while firing warning shots. He ran for approximately 500 metres to a small pond, where he attempted to sink and swallow some of his documents. The villagers captured and manhandled Varthaman before he was rescued by the Pakistan Army.

Later that day, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs claims an Indian pilot was missing in action after a MiG-21 Bison fighter aircraft was lost while engaging with Pakistani jets. A statement released by the IAF also said before the crash, Varthaman had shot down a PAF Lockheed Martin F-16. On 2 March 2019, nearly two days after the aerial engagement between PAF and IAF, the IAF displayed the parts of AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, which could be used only by the PAF's Lockheed Martin F-16, at a media briefing. The IAF also claims, they had identified the electronic signatures of the aircraft and confirmed it was the F-16 that was used. but the Indian analyst Abhijeet Lyer Mitra expose the claim. According to an agreement between the US and Pakistan, Pakistan is only allowed to use the F-16 against terrorists. Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations Director General refuted the later claims and said F-16s had not been used in the incident.

Videos
Videos and images released by Pakistani authorities showed Varthaman being rescued from a mob by Pakistani soldiers and being interrogated while tied and blindfolded with a bloody face. Other videos showed him receiving first aid and being further interrogated over tea. The media received a mixed reception; some commentators criticised the reports as a "vulgar display" while others praised the intervention of the Pakistani soldiers when Varthaman was in the hands of the mob. The release of the videos was suspected of being a violation of the Geneva Conventions and were deleted by Pakistani authorities after they went viral. Experts gave different opinions about the validity of the Geneva Convention to this case.