Moiz Abbas Shah, Pakistani Army officer who 'captured' IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, killed by Pak Taliban

Moiz Abbas Shah, the Pakistani special forces officer, who had claimed to capture Indian Air Force (IAF) officer Abhinandan Varthaman in 2019, has been killed in clashes with the Tehreek-i-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP), media reports said. The TTP, also known as Pakistani Taliban, is an armed Islamist militant group active along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Shah and another security personnel was killed in an operation in Waziristan regoin of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Shah, who had reportedly been posted to Pakistan's Special Service Group's 6th Commando Battalion, died in fighting in the Sarargoha area. Pakistani military said that 11 militants were eliminated in the same operation.

How was GC Varthaman captured?
Group Captain Varthaman, then a Wing Commander, had shot down a Pakistani F-16 fighter jet while flying a generation-older MiG 21 during aerial combat on February 27, 2019, a day after India launched the Balakot airstrikes on terrorist training camps. During the dogfight, Group Captain Varthaman flew over Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and his plane was hit. The fighter pilot had to eject in the enemy territory and was then captured. He was released after 60 hours following intensive pressure from India and the global community.

Why did India launch Balakot airstrikes?
The Balakot airstrikes were India's response to the deadly Pulwama terrorist attack of February 2019, when a suicide bomber rammed a van into a security forces convoy, killing 40 Army soldiers. The terrorist, later identified as Adil Ahmad Dir, had been trained by the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). India's retaliatory action involved a dozen Mirage jets going 20 kilometers past the Line of Control (LoC) to destroy JeM training camps. The entire operation lasted less than 20 minutes.