On the night of February 27, 2019, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, urgently initiated a midnight call to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking to avert a potential military crisis following the Balakot airstrikes. This revelation comes from the upcoming book 'The Anger Management: The Troubled Diplomatic Relationship between India and Pakistan' by Ajay Bisaria, the former India High Commissioner in Pakistan.
In the aftermath of the Balakot airstrikes conducted by the Indian Air Force on February 26, 2019, in response to a terrorist attack in Pulwama, Jammu, and Kashmir, Imran Khan was reportedly alarmed by "credible intelligence" indicating that nine Indian missiles were targeted at Pakistani territory. On the night of February 27, fearing an imminent attack from India, Pakistan's then Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua received a message from the Army, warning of the potential launch of nine missiles that day.
According to Bisaria, the foreign secretary urgently relayed this intelligence to the envoys, requesting them to communicate to their respective capitals and implore India not to escalate the situation. As tensions escalated, Imran Khan took a decisive step by requesting a midnight phone call to Prime Minister Modi, expressing a need for urgent dialogue to de-escalate the rising tension. The call was facilitated by the then Pakistani High Commissioner Sohail Mahmood, who contacted his counterpart in Delhi.
In recounting the incident, Bisaria mentions, "At around midnight, I got a call in Delhi from Pakistani High Commissioner Sohail Mahmood, now in Islamabad, who said that PM Imran Khan was keen to talk to Prime Minister Modi. I checked upstairs and responded that our prime minister was not available at that hour, but in case Imran Khan had any urgent message to convey, he could, of course, convey it to me. I got no call back that night."
Later that night, envoys from the US and UK in Delhi conveyed to India's foreign secretary that Pakistan was willing to de-escalate the situation, act on India’s dossier, and address the issue of terrorism seriously.
The following day, Imran Khan publicly announced the release of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who had been captured by Pakistani forces after an aerial dogfight on February 26, 2019. While Imran Khan labeled the release as a "peace gesture," Bisaria notes that it was a result of India's coercive diplomacy.
In a subsequent campaign speech, Prime Minister Modi referred to the incident, stating, "Fortunately, Pakistan announced that the pilot would be sent back to India. Else, it would have been qatal ki raat, a night of bloodshed." This intricate sequence of events reveals the complex diplomatic negotiations and crisis management that unfolded during this critical period.
