India is welcoming Pakistan's decision to free a captured Indian pilot whose Mig-21 fighter was shot down during an aerial skirmish between the air forces of the two countries in disputed Kashmir.
Air Vice Marshal R.J.K. Kapoor, an Indian air force spokesman, says the Indian air force "is extremely happy and looks forward to the return of the Indian pilot."
Talking to reporters, the spokesman did not give any details, such as whether the pilot will be flown from Pakistan on Friday.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced in Parliament on Thursday that the pilot will be released as "a peace gesture, " a step that is likely to help defuse the confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbors over the disputed region of Kashmir.
Pakistan said Thursday it will release a captured Indian pilot as a "peace gesture", taking a step towards rapprochement as clashes between the nuclear-armed rivals ignited fears of a disastrous conflict.
The pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, has become the face of the crisis since he was shot down in a rare aerial engagement between the South Asian neighbors over the disputed region of Kashmir on Wednesday.
With anger boiling over his capture in India, analysts have touted him as a potential trump card for Islamabad.
"As a peace gesture we are releasing the Indian pilot tomorrow," Prime Minister Imran Khan told a joint session of parliament.
Parliamentarians stamped their feet in approval at his statement, the first sign of a potential thaw after a dangerous sequence of events between the two countries sent tensions soaring.
Tit-for-tat raids across their hair-trigger border have alarmed world powers including China and the US, who have urged restraint.
Pakistan has said it downed two Indian fighters, while India confirmed it had lost one plane and claimed it had shot down a Pakistani jet.
"I am afraid of miscalculations," Khan said. "We should not even think of war, especially in view of the lethality of the weapons that we have.
However, he warned that his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi should not misconstrue his desire to de-escalate as "weakness".
China says it's in close communication with both India and Pakistan in hopes of promoting a de-escalation of their current standoff.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang says China hopes "the two countries can meet each other halfway and resolve this issue via dialogue."
Lu said at a daily briefing on Thursday that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed Beijing's concerns both to his Indian counterpart at a trilateral meeting in eastern China and over the phone with Pakistan's foreign minister.
Lu says upholding regional peace and stability was a primary concern.
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang expressed similar sentiments calling for restraint.
Ren said "both India and Pakistan are friends of China and we believe that the top priority is for the two sides to exercise restraint and to resolve the issue through dialogue and coordination."
Ren declined to say if China has taken any special measures at its border with Kashmir in response to the India-Pakistan escalation.
