Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured by Pakistani armed forces on February 27, will be governed under the Geneva Conventions. The pilot, whose MiG-21 aircraft was shot down by the Pakistan Air Force while engaged in hot pursuit to repel an enemy attack, ejected safely but landed across the Line of Control and was taken into custody.

Two videos show the captured IAF pilot bloodied and blindfolded, but answering questions in a composed and stoic manner. Hours later, the Pakistan Army released another video where Abhinandan can be seen drinking tea, cleaned up. The officer again answers questions with composure.

The Ministry of External Affairs summoned the acting high commissioner of Pakistan Syed Haider Shah and demanded the immediate and safe return of the pilot. It conveyed strong objection at the “vulgar display” of an injured personnel in violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions.

What are the Geneva Conventions?

The Geneva Conventions and their protocols are treaties at the core of international humanitarian law, the body of law that regulates the conduct of armed conflict and seeks to limit its effects. There are four conventions, and their protocols call for measures to be taken to prevent or put an end to all breaches.

1. Protects wounded and sick soldiers on land during war.

2. Protects wounded, sick and shipwrecked military personnel at sea during war.

3. Applies to prisoners of war (PoWs).

4. Protects civilians, including those in occupied territory.

When were these rules codified?

The development of the Geneva Conventions was closely associated with the Red Cross, whose founder Henri Dunant initiated international negotiations that produced the Convention for the Amelioration of the Wounded in Time of War in 1864. The 1864 convention was ratified within three years by all major European powers as well as by many other countries. It was amended and extended by the second Geneva Convention in 1906. The third Convention was held in 1929.

However, some belligerents in World War II had abused the principles contained in earlier conventions. A Red Cross conference in Stockholm in 1948 extended and codified the existing provisions. It developed four conventions, which were approved in Geneva on August 12, 1949. More than 180 nations have become parties to the conventions.

What does it say about PoWs?

The third Geneva Convention provides a wide range of protection for PoWs. It contains 143 articles and defines their rights and sets down detailed rules for their treatment and eventual release. International humanitarian law also protects other persons deprived of liberty as a result of armed conflict. The rules protecting PoWs are specific and were first detailed in the second Geneva Convention. They were refined in the 1949 Geneva Convention as well as in additional protocol I of 1977. The convention establishes the principle that PoWs shall be released and repatriated without delay after the cessation of active hostilities.

How should a PoW be treated?

According to Article 13 of the third Geneva Convention, PoWs must at all times be humanely treated. Any unlawful act or omission by the detaining power causing death or seriously endangering the health of a PoW in its custody is prohibited, and will be regarded as a serious breach of the convention. In particular, no PoW may be subjected to physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind that are not justified by the medical, dental or hospital treatment of the prisoner concerned and carried out in his interest. Likewise, PoWs must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity.

India has raised this point  and conveyed it to Pakistan that “vulgar display” of the captured pilot is violation of the Geneva Conventions.

Also, another article states that every PoW, when questioned on the subject, is bound to give only his surname, first name and rank, date of birth, and army, regimental, personal or serial number, or failing this, equivalent information. No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion may be inflicted on PoWs to secure from them information of any kind whatever.

History of Indo-Pak PoWs

After the 1971 War, nearly 93,000 Pakistani servicemen were taken by the Indian Army as PoWs. The Simla Agreement signed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on July 2, 1972, was much more than a peace treaty, seeking to reverse the war’s consequences to bring about the withdrawal of troops and exchange of PoWs. The Pakistani PoWs were released after that.

However, many Indian soldiers, who are referred to as ‘The Missing 54’, are believed to be imprisoned in various Pakistani jails. Though Pakistan denies the claim, the Indian government tabled a list of these soldiers in Lok Sabha in 1978 as “missing in action”.

During the 1999 Kargil War, Group Captain Kambampati Nachiketa was captured by Pakistani troops in Kashmir after ejecting from his aircraft. He remained a PoW for eight days and was repatriated on June 3, 1999.

In another case, Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja’s aircraft was hit by a missile while trying to trace the fighter jet flown by Nachiketa. Ahuja ejected after his jet was hit. Pakistan later returned Ahuja’s body, but it bore point-blank bullet wounds, indicating he was captured alive and then shot dead. Ahuja was conferred with a Vir Chakra posthumously on August 15, 1999.