Pakistan releases captured Indian pilot; confrontation cools

A man watches a statement of Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman on his mobile phone, released on twitter by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, in Karachi, Pakistan March 1, 2019. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro

WAGAH, India/MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan handed back a captured Indian pilot on Friday as the nuclear-armed neighbours scaled back a confrontation that has prompted world powers to urge restraint, although shelling continued in the disputed Kashmir region.

Television footage showed Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman walking across the border near the town of Wagah just before 9 p.m. (1600 GMT). Indian officials confirmed he had been returned and said he would be taken for medical checks.