Who was the lady accompanying Indian pilot Abhinandan at Wagah border?

LAHORE: As Pakistan was handing over captive Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Abhinandan Varthaman to India at Wagha border, people were curious to know about the lady who was walking beside the IAF pilot during his release on Friday.

The historic event was broadcast live on national as well as international media, however, the identity of the lady remained unclear.

The eager public kept coming up with several speculations on the social media over lady’s identification. Few made guesses that she is Indian wing commander’s wife, who might have been granted a special permission to receive her husband on Pakistani side of the border.

All assumptions turned out to be wrong, as the lady was Dr Fariha Bugti who is the director of South Asia desk at the Foreign Office of Pakistan.

Dr. Fariha was also present during the meeting of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jhadav with his family in 2017.

The monuments announcement to release the captured pilot was made on Thursday by Prime Minister Imran Khan during a joint session of parliament. The release of pilot Abhinandan was a gesture of peace from Pakistan, in order to de-escalate soaring tensions with New Delhi.