Post-Pulwama attack: Abhinandan’s mannequin, kit on display at PAF Museum

KARACHI: A mannequin of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthama of the Indian Air Force having a crimson puffy cheekbone and half-closed eyes has been placed at the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Museum, Karachi, by the PAF.

The mannequin depicts a wounded Abhinandan exactly after his warplane MiG-21 was struck down by a missile in a dogfight that ensued in the wake of the Pulwama attack in the Indian-occupied Kashmir in February this year.

As Abhinandan’s plane was downed, he ejected and descended safely in the village of Horran in Azad Kashmir, some seven kilometres from the Line of Control. He was captured and manhandled by villagers before being rescued by the Pakistan Army and was released by the Pakistani government in 60 hours as a peace gesture.

A map, a machete knife, a blanket, goggles, a coverall, a cap (hood), a parachute cord, a gravity suit belonging to Abhinandan have also been displayed at the museum. However, the most interesting object of the entire assemblage is the cup in which tea was served to the Indian pilot in Pakistan custody. A memo of the PAF officers mess is embossed on the cup which mentions the price of the tea as one MiG-21. One of the museum’s officials joked about it to be the most expensive tea in human history. The coverall, according to the museum’s official, is one piece of cloth which covers the entire body of the fighter pilot and is heat-resistant and fireproof. Over the coverall, the official explained, a pilot wears gravity suit which controls the pilot’s weight and keeps heartbeat normal.

As for the map, the official said, it is always present in a lower pocket of the coverall. If the GPS stops working, the fighter pilot locates his position through the paper map.

The machete knife is a specialised knife present in the coverall’s pocket. It is sharp enough to break the upper canopy of the fighter plane if the pilot is in need of an emergency ejection.