India-Pakistan news: Imran Khan says Pakistan will release captured Indian pilot ‘as a peace gesture’
Steps taken to ease the tensions as Imran Khan calls for talks
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Your support makes all the difference.Pakistan has said it will release the Indian pilot that was captured yesterday as a “gesture of peace”, prime minister Imran Khan announced.
The pilot, who is currently in custody, will be allowed to leave on Friday as efforts to cool the crisis between the two nuclear-armed neighbours continues.
Locals were forced to flee from their homes in Kashmir as India and Pakistan exchanged gunfire through the night.
Jet fighters were seen over the mountainous region one day after the two nuclear-armed nations had claimed to have shot down each other’s warplanes.
There were no immediate reports of casualties but those living in the disputed region were seen fleeing the area with no imminent ceasefire in sight.
Members of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharitiya Janata Party (BJP) called for more military action, suggesting the conflict could worsen.
An Indian government source told The Independent that relations with Pakistan would not return to normal, even with the return of their pilot.
World powers have called on the nations to de-escalate the tensions which started after a suicide car bombing on 14 February killed more than 40 Indian paramilitary personnel.
But the risk of conflict rose dramatically on Tuesday when India launched an air strike into Pakistani territory on what it said was a militant training base – the first such raid since the two nations’ 1971 war over territory that later became Bangladesh.
New Delhi claimed at least 300 militants were killed in the strike, while Pakistan said no one was killed.
The situation escalated further yesterday when Pakistan said it had shot down an Indian aircraft and captured a pilot.
India acknowledged one of its jets was “lost” and that its pilot was “missing in action”.
India also said it shot down a Pakistani plane, something Islamabad denied.
Here is how we covered the day's events
Here is Imran Khan, the prime minister of Pakistan, making the announcement about releasing the Indian air force pilot.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is currently chairing a security meeting at his residence. It is more than likely that the current tension in Kashmir will feature heavily.
This is apparently a part of a missile that has been recovered in India.
Kashmir is approximately 222,236 square km (85,783 sq miles), it is slightly bigger than the US state of Utah and almost as big as Britain.
India controls 45 per cent, in the south and east, Pakistan about a third in the north and west, and China the rest.
Protests have erupted across Pakistan - one group was seen in Peshawar burning an effigy of Narendra Modi.
Pakistani religious students rally against India in Islamabad (AP)
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