Chose to stay away from Wagah to maintain protocol: Capt
Saturday, 02/03/2019
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CHANDIGARH: Chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday welcomed IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s release and return, adding that he chose not to receive him at the border to ensure that the defence protocol that is usually followed in such cases is not violated.
“I would have loved to go, since both he and his father were from the National Defence Academy (NDA), like me, and it would have been an extremely happy and nostalgic moment for me to receive the brave officer,” said the chief minister in a statement.
However, after his offer to the Prime Minister last evening to welcome the IAF officer back on the Indian soil at the Punjab border, Amarinder said he thought it over and came to the conclusion that it might contravene the protocols laid out for such cases. When any PoW from the 1965 or 1971 war came back, he was first sent for medical examination, followed by a debriefing, which was likely to be the case with Wing Commander Abhinandan too, he noted.
In the circumstances, it would be more proper for him not to go to the Wagah border to receive the officer, said the CM, who was camping in the border areas for the past three days as part of the confidence-building exercise in the wake of the tension between India and Pakistan.
