Pakistan, India can live in peace, downed Indian pilot says in newly released footage

ISLAMABAD: India and Pakistan can live in peace, an Indian Air Force pilot who was briefly in Pakistani custody in 2019 said in footage circulated by local media organizations on Saturday.  
Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was captured on Feb. 27, 2019 when Pakistan shot down his jet when it crossed the Line of Control (LoC) — the de facto border in Kashmir. A day earlier, Indian warplanes also crossed the border and dropped bombs near Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
No casualties were caused by the attack and Pakistan soon released the Indian pilot in a goodwill gesture.
Parts of the video recorded by the Pakistani Army, including Varthaman's famous praise of the "fantastic" tea he was served by Pakistani officers, were aired already in 2019, but some lines in the footage shared on Saturday, including the pilot's call for peace, are new.
"I want that peace should prevail, and we (India and Pakistan) can live in peace," Varthaman said in the video.
"Wars happen when there is no peace. I don't know what needs to be done to bring about peace, but I do know that there should be peace. And I see no reason for us to continue with any kind of hostilities."
He added: "What is happening to Kashmiris? Neither you nor I know about it ... We should think with a calm mind."
The newly released footage comes after the military operations heads of Pakistan and India said in a joint statement on Thursday that they had agreed to discuss each other’s concerns that could disturb peace and lead to violence along the Line of Control (LoC).
The announcement has been seen as restoring a ceasefire agreement from 2003, which has been fraying in recent years.
Kashmir has long been a flashpoint between Pakistan and India as both claim the region in full but rule it in part. Tensions increased in August 2019, after New Delhi withdrew the region's autonomy and split it into federally administered territories. In recent months, cross border firing has become frequent, often killing or maiming people living in the area.