Slogans for his long afterlife rented the air, as coffin of Flight Lieutenant Advitiya Bal arrived at his home in Jinder Mehlu hamlet of border belt of R S Pura, where thousands of people gathered to pay their last respects to the fighter pilot.
"I want to tell India that war is not a solution to any problem. The winner in war is also a loser. War gives birth to host of other issues," said the Pakistani prime minister.
'So much resources go into guarding this territory. So much goes into policing the Line of Control. So many mouths can get fed, so many minds can be nourished, if India and Pakistan resolve the Kashmir issue through a Kashmiri-owned, Kashmiri-led peace process'
'...and then get scaled down somewhat.' 'It will be difficult for any side to occupy meaningful territories, maybe just a bit here and there, and the destruction may vary on either side.'
A squadron leader and a flight liuetanant, injured in the crash, have been rushed to the army hospital, the sources said.
'The Balakot mission was an act of political signaling that India is willing to raise the price that the Pakistani State has to pay in order to support terrorism.'
Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor, assistant chief of Air Staff, said, "We see it as a gesture in consonance with the Geneva Conventions."
Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja was tortured and killed after his MiG-21 was shot down and he ejected across the Line of Control during the Kargil War.
'To me, this is true patriotism - not deciding who should and should not say 'Bharat Mata ki jai,' in what language, with what inflexion, at what time, etc, but the recognition that the Indians who protected our country and the military traditions that made those men, must be honoured,' says Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
Of late, war films -- particularly those that tell stories of the 1971 War and Kargil -- have been produced.
The IAF pilot revealed that he was not physically tortured by Pakistan military authorities.
A medical review board in the near future will assess the medical fitness of the Wing Commander and decide when he can resume his operations as a fighter pilot.
Territorial Army Honorary Lieutenant Colonel Mahendra Singh Dhoni couldn't hide his excitement after five Rafale fighter jets were formally inducted into the Indian Air Force.
Sadiq, who was the Speaker of the National Assembly during the PML-N government, made a similar statement earlier on Wednesday in Parliament that Foreign Minister Qureshi had said in an important meeting that if Varthaman was not released, India would attack Pakistan 'at 9 pm that night (sic)' and 'for God's sake we should let him go'.
A MiG-21 Bison of the IAF, piloted by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was downed during a dogfight between India and Pakistan sides on February 27 after the Balakot airstrike
The national flag will fly half-mast on the day of the funeral in Delhi.
India has not been engaging with Pakistan since an attack on the air force base at Pathankot in January of 2016 by Pakistan-based terrorists, maintaining that talks and terror cannot go together.
A US count of Pakistan's F-16 fleet has found that all the jets are present and accounted for, a report claims.
'When people who are safe in their homes think that everything is peaceful -- 'kuch nahi ho raha hai' -- it is because a band of soldiers has already stopped that from happening and the anti-nationals have been neutralised.'
The US had also said there was an "urgent need" for dialogue among all actors to reduce tensions and to avoid a potential military escalation in South Asia.
The time is ripe for reduction of troops in a phased manner and moving the rest of the army units on internal security remit to the Line of Control.
An IAF spokesman said bad weather is hampering the search and added that no trace has been found yet of the machines or the pilots.
'There is hope that in the next 48 to 72 hours there will be some kind of movement forward to de-escalate and not heighten the tension.'
Residents of this hamlet have been thronging the house of 24-year-old Airman Pritam Chand since the day the IAF aircraft went missing.
In a tweet, Pakistani military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said, "Repetitions don't make truth of a lie. Despite claiming possession of evidence on shooting F16, IAF still short of presenting it."
The unfortunate thing is that the film will leave a poor impression of the IAF's and indeed of the armed forces's ability to handle sensitive social matters within their professional space, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
'Some within India are terming Imran a statesman for sending back our pilot'
Basil George led an amazing rescue mission so that a helicopter could land and rescue people. In an admirable community effort, his team swam through strong currents, broken walls and floating snakes to help those who needed it most.
'The Indian Air Force wanted to fight. My squadron leaders and flight lieutenants, all of us were eager to fight. Unless they are keen I can't have confidence.' Marshal of the Air Force, the legendary Arjan Singh, on the 1965 War.
The No. 51 Squadron is to be retired by the end of September, "as per the plan", the defence sources said.
High Commissioner Bisaria in his brief address to the audience said that some of the guests could not make to the party. "I want to apologise because some of you faced a lot of trouble to come here and some of our friends could not come," he said. Bisaria also said that people had come from Lahore and Karachi to attend the event and thanked them for coming.
The advanced light helicopter, carrying Army personnel, was on regular sorties, he said. The incident took place at 10.43 am, and search operation is underway, the official said.
'Till date there have been 482 accidents on account of failure of this aircraft and 171 IAF pilots have lost their lives.'
Snubbed by his party leader Rahul Gandhi and panned by the Bharatiya Janata Party for questioning surgical strikes, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh swung into damage control mode on Tuesday and said his questions were to the government and not the armed forces.
The sortie had to be executed in good weather and in sub-zero temperatures, which meant it was to be accomplished by mid or third week in May before the earth heated up and the monsoon clouds made things difficult.
Disciplinary action is being taken against two officers in the shooting down of the chopper.
The landmark move comes days after the government approved women fighter pilots for the Indian Air Force.
IAF Flying Officer Jawahar Lal Bhargava was forced to stayed in the POW camp at Rawalpindi for the year that followed only to be released in December 1972.
The Bengaluru skies dazzled with somersaults and stunts by metal birds.
In his first comments since the militaries of India and Pakistan jointly announced on Thursday that they have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and other sectors, Khan said Pakistan remains ready to move forward to resolve 'all outstanding issues' with India through dialogue.
