Explained: Geneva Convention must guide Pakistan on IAF officer

The Geneva Convention makes it incumbent upon Pakistan to return the IAF officer unharmed. Countries are required to treat PoWs humanely in all circumstances.

An Indian Air Force officer is missing in action, and Pakistan has claimed he is in their custody. It has released a video purportedly of the officer.

What Pakistan is claiming

Pakistan Armed Forces spokesperson Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said on Wednesday afternoon that two IAF aircraft had entered Pak territory and had been shot down.

“Our ground forces arrested two pilots; one of them was injured and has been shifted to CMH [Combined Military Hospital] and, God willing, he will be taken care of. The other one is with us,” the spokesperson said.

In the evening, Ghafoor posted a clarification on Twitter: “There is only one pilot under Pakistan Army’s custody. Wing Comd Abhi Nandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics.”

The spokesman tweeted a photo, ostensibly of the IAF officer.

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India’s statement

The Ministry of External Affairs has acknowledged that India “lost one MiG-21” in an engagement with the Pak Air Force, and “the pilot is missing in action”. The MEA spokesperson said that “Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody”, and “We are ascertaining the facts.”

Geneva Convention

On Wednesday evening, the MEA summoned the Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner.

The third Geneva Convention (1949) provides protection for Prisoners of War (PoWs), defines the rights of PoWs, and lays down rules on how they are to be treated and released.

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The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) describes “PoWs (as) usually members of the armed forces of one of the parties to a conflict who fall into the hands of the adverse party.”

ICRC has been mandated under the Geneva Conventions to ensure the application of international humanitarian law.

ICRC visits prisoners, both military and civilian.

The Geneva Convention makes it incumbent upon Pakistan to return the IAF officer unharmed. Countries are required to treat PoWs humanely in all circumstances. PoWs are protected against violence, intimidation, insults, and guaranteed minimum conditions of accommodation, food, clothing, hygiene and medical care.

But there is no timeframe for Pakistan to return the officer. Flight Lieutenant Kambampati Nachiketa, who was captured after his MiG-27 suffered a flameout while destroying enemy positions in the Batalik subsector during the Kargil War on May 27, 1999, remained in Pakistani custody for more than a week, and was repatriated to India on June 3 of that year.