On Wednesday, Bollywood actors and filmmakers took to Twitter other forms of social media to pray for the Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot safe return to India.
“Thoughts and strength to #WingCommandarAbhinandan amd his familly....India stands tall and proud with you....,” Karan wrote in his tweet. “My prayers with #wingcommanderabhinandan hope he is safe & we see him back on home soil very soon...”, wrote Arjun.
In the wake of escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, Punjabi actor and singer Diljit Dosanjh decided to postpone the unveiling of his Madame Tussauds’ wax statue at an event in New Delhi on Thursday. “Amidst the tensions rising across the nation, (we) have decided to re-schedule the launch of Madame Tussauds wax statue... Will post (a) new date soon”, tweeted Diljit on Wednesday. “Our soldiers are fighting hard to protect the nation. We stand by our soldiers,” he said, adding “Bring back Abhinandan” in reference to the pilot in Pakistan custody.
On Wednesday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that Pakistan had responded to the counter-terror strike this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. “The Pakistan Air Force was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly,” he said.
Pakistan Army had released a video that shows a blindfolded man, identifying himself as a Wing Commander-rank IAF officer and his service number. India has strongly objected to Islamabad putting out photographs and videos of the pilot who was missing in action after he engaged with Pakistani jets that violated Indian airspace on Wednesday morning. India has asked Pakistan to ensure immediate release and safe return of the pilot.