Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who became the face and symbol of the biggest clash between India and Pakistan in many years, walked across the border just before 9 p.m. (1600 GMT) on Friday in a high-profile handover shown on live television.
Shelling on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) that acts as a de facto border in the disputed Kashmir region continued for a few hours after his release, resulting in four deaths, but then stopped overnight, officials said.
Pakistan touted Abhinandan's return as "as a goodwill gesture aimed at de-escalating rising tensions with India" after weeks of unease that threatened to spiral into war after both countries used jets for bombing missions this week.
The flare up has unnerved global powers, including China and the United States, who urged restraint to prevent another conflict between neighbours who have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947.
Tensions escalated rapidly following a suicide car bombing on Feb. 14 that killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
India accused Pakistan of harbouring the Jaish-e Mohammad group behind the attack, which Islamabad denied, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised a strong response.
Indian warplanes on Tuesday carried out airstrikes inside Pakistan on what New Delhi called militant camps. Islamabad denied any such camps existed, as did local villagers in the area, but Pakistan on Wednesday retaliated with its own aerial mission, that led to both sides claiming to have shot down jets.
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The stand off came at a critical time for Modi
, who faces a general election that must be held by May and who had been expected to benefit from nationalist pride unleashed by the standoff.
Pakistani leaders say the ball is now in India's court to de-escalate the tensions, though Pakistani army chief on Friday told top military leaders of the United States, Britain and Australia that his country would "surely respond to any aggression in self-defence".
"COLLIDE HEAD-ON"
The Indian pilot's ordeal since being shot down on Wednesday
had made him the focal point of the crisis and he returned to his homeland to a hero's welcome, with crowds thronging the Wagah border crossing and waving Indian flags.
Before his release, Pakistani television stations broadcast video of Abhinandan in which he thanked the Pakistani army for saving him from an angry crowd who chased him after seeing him parachute to safety.
"The Pakistani army is a very professional service," he said. "I have spent time with the Pakistan army. I am very impressed."
On Friday, four Indian troops and one civilian were killed in a clash with militants in the Indian-administered Kashmir, where a further three people were killed and one wounded from Pakistani shelling. One person was killed and three wounded on Pakistan's side of Kashmir from a barrage of India shelling.
Pakistani officials
say the shelling stopped around
mid-night, but in a sign of the unease, residents say they are afraid another conflagration is likely.
"The way situation is developing along the LoC makes me feel that both sides may collide head-on anytime now," said Chaudhry Jahangir, a Pakistani resident of the Samahni sector in Kashmir.
, হাতে অখণ্ড অবসর। অবসর সময়ে বিশ্বকাপে নিজের খেলা ম্যাচগুলোর ফুটেজ দেখে তাঁর মনে সন্দেহ জেগেছে, আসলেই তিনি ডাইভ দিয়েছেন কি না, ‘আমি বিশ্বকাপের ম্যাচগুলোর ফুটেজ দেখছিলাম। দেখতে দেখতে আমার মনে হচ্ছিল, আমি কি আসলেই ডাইভ দিয়েছি?’
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old. Richard McClintock, a Latin professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, looked up one of the more obscure Latin words, consectetur, from a Lorem Ipsum passage, and going through the cites of the word in classical literature, discovered the undoubtable source. Lorem Ipsum comes from sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 of ,
ওয়ালটন ঢাকা প্রিমিয়ার ডিভিশন লিগের প্লেয়ার্স ড্রাফট হয়ে গেল আজ। বাংলাদেশ ক্রিকেটের ঐতিহ্যবাহী এই লিগের নিলামে ১২টি ক্লাব দল গড়তে খরচ করেছে মোট ১৮ কোটি ৬২ লাখ টাকা। যোগ করতে হবে ধরে রাখা খেলোয়াড়দের পারিশ্রমিকও। সে হিসাবে মোট ২৩ কোটি টাকা। একজন বিদেশি খেলোয়াড় দলে ভেড়ানোর সুযোগ থাকায় অঙ্কটা আরও বাড়বে।
নিউজিল্যান্ডে পা রাখার পর থেকে সুখবর বিরল অভিজ্ঞতা হয়ে গিয়েছে বাংলাদেশের জন্য। তবে দুঃসংবাদের ভিড়ে এমআরআই রিপোর্ট বাংলাদেশকে স্বস্তিই দেবে। মুশফিকুর রহিমের চোট গুরুতর কিছু নয়। আগামীকাল ওয়ানডেতে পাওয়া যাবে তাঁকে। মোহাম্মদ মিঠুন সিরিজের শেষ ওয়ানডেতে থাকবেন না, এটা আগেই নিশ্চিত হয়ে গিয়েছিল। তবে এর মধ্যেও একটা সুখবর হলো, প্রথম টেস্টের আগেই তাঁর সেরে ওঠার কথা।
গত বছর সন্দেহজনক বোলিং অ্যাকশনের দায়ে নিষিদ্ধ হয়েছিলেন অফ স্পিনার আকিলা ধনঞ্জয়া। অ্যাকশন শুধরে আইসিসির কাছ থেকে আবারও বোলিং করার ছাড়পত্র পেলেন তিনি।