: I was earlier a critic of IK, but after the wise&restrained speech he gave on TV I have become his admirer. — Markandey Katju (@mkatju) February 28, 2019

Markandey Katju, former Supreme Court judge of India, became an admirer of Prime Minister Imran Khan after listening to his " wise and restrained speech " about de-escalating Pak-India tensions.Katju spoke out via Twitter saying that he was previously not a fan of the cricketer-turned-politician, however, this was no longer the case now.Earlier in the day, Premier Imran had announced that the government would release the captured Indian pilot on Friday (March 1) as a 'peace gesture'.

Addressing a a joint session of parliament, the prime minister said Pakistan’s desire for de-escalation should not be confused as weakness.

“I reached out to New Delhi after assuming charge as prime minister. I wrote to Narendra Modi and suggested a meeting between the foreign ministers on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. But we did not get a positive response,” he said.Abhinandan Varthaman was captured soon after he descended by parachute after bailing out from his disintegrating aircraft. The PAF shot down two IAF aircraft, and the wreckage of the second aircraft fell in Indian-occupied Kashmir on Wednesday.