According to reports, the handover had taken place at around 5:30 pm on Friday evening. In the next 30 minutes, he is likely to complete formalities on the Indian side.

"We have an Indian pilot. As a peace gesture we will release him tomorrow," Imran Khan told a joint sitting of parliament in the capital Islamabad on Thursday.

According to Al Jazeera, Khan also said he had unsuccessfully tried to make a telephone contact with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Wednesday night.

"Yesterday, I tried to call Narendra Modi," Khan said. "I wanted to make it clear that we do not want any kind of escalation."

Abhinandan was shot down over Kashmir on Wednesday, after a dogfight in the skies over the disputed Himalayan region which sent tensions between India and Pakistan to their highest levels in years and alarmed world powers, who issued calls for restraint.

Air Vice-Marshal Ravi Kapoor will be giving statement at Wagah shortly