According to sources, India has not asked for consular access to Wing Commander Abhinandan. India’s stand is to demand the immediate release of Abhinandan.
Interestingly, sources also confirmed that India is not going to hold any talks or negotiations as far as the safe return of Abhinandan Vartaman is concerned. Sources said that Pakistan is trying to create Kandahar like pressure and India is not going to give in to those pressures again.
On being asked what the international justification for India’s stand is, the source said, “International rules and regulations are there. They also prohibit cross border violation. We destroyed the target, that is a huge diplomatic achievement. We are not in a normal situation. can’t let the mood of the nation depend on an individual. We should not allow Pakistan to utilise one individual (Wing Commander Abhinandan) to change the mood of the nation. Do not let Pakistan use this. We must guard against this. We are signalling. We are not making a deal. If Pakistan thinks they can use him as a deal. The US, France, UK and Russia have been supportive. P4 holding firm. We believe we have an upper hand”.
On the question whether Prime Minister Modi and PM Imran Khan are planning to talk about the recent escalation, sources said, “Immediate, credible and verifiable action against terror is required before any such conversation. Imran Khan should now walk the talk on dealing with terrorism. That is our message to Pakistan and the International community”.
The sources also said that India did not target any civilians or military installations, but Pakistan escalated by targeting Indian military installations. India did not deliberately cross LoC, very strong demarches have been given. India has foiled Pakistan’s attempts at creating a war psychosis.
The source in the MEA also said, “aggression, war, conflict are dictionary words. Who has escalated the issue? We didn’t escalate. We haven’t taken any military action after 26th except to defend ourselves. Who is closing airspace? Who is creating war psychosis? We are defending ourselves. Our action speaks for themselves”.
The sources also confirmed that India has given specific information of Jaish-e-Mohammad to all members of the security council. India has also provided information to China. The source said, “We can’t predict what China will do. We will do all efforts to convince China. Whether China is convinced or not is anybody’s guess”.