Abhina­ndan Vartha­man bears the servic­e number 27981 and belong­s to the F(P) or ‘Flying Pilot’ branch of the IAFKARACHI: A fact-checking exercise carried out by The Express Tribune has confirmed that the Indian pilot captured by Pakistani forces is indeed a serving member of the Indian Air Force. “IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan took off in a MiG-21 Bison jet today, he is yet to return,” India’s ANI news agency quoted the sources as saying. The officer was commissioned on June 19, 2004 and attended the 173 Course of the Indian military before induction into service. Bharat-Rakshak, which translates to Defenders of India, is a portal devoted to chronicling and discussing India’s military affairs and is run by Indian military enthusiasts. It started in April 1997 as a consortium of previously independent webpages run by Indian military enthusiasts and now counts many former and serving members of both the Indian military and Indian defence firms in its user base.

Source: The Express Tribune February 27, 2019 10:30 UTC