Abhinandan Varthaman will be released on Friday ....... Whatever we intended to destroy, we got that result: IAF on Balakot during tri-services briefingPakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan announced Thursday evening that Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who is in their custody, will be released tomorrow.

Air Marshal (retd) S Varthaman, father of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman (inset) leaves for New Delhi airport from his residence in Chennai  |  Photo Credit: PTI

TNN, 1 March 2019, New Delhi: In a big development, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan announced Thursday evening that Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who is in their custody, will be released on Friday. 

Imran said his government decided to release the Indian pilot from custody as a "peace gesture". Earlier, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had said that PM Imran Khan was ready to talk to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi over phone to defuse tensions.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a veiled attack on Pakistan, had said that India needed to stand united against the "evil designs" of its "enemy" which was plotting a conspiracy to destabilise the country. During an interaction with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers through video conference, the PM said: "The enemy tries to destabilize us, carries out terror attacks, they want to stop our growth. All countrymen are standing like a rock to counter their evil designs."

Also today, the Pakistani authorities suspended the Samjhauta Express between India and Pakistan in the backdrop of rising tensions between the two countries.