Pakistan says it will release captured Indian pilot

Pakistan says it will release a captured Indian pilot tomorrow as a "goodwill gesture" amid escalating tensions between the two countries, The Associated Press reports.

India on Tuesday had launched an airstrike in Pakistan, with the country saying it hit a terrorist training camp after a deadly attack earlier this month. Pakistan responded by carrying out airstrikes of its own, also shooting down an Indian jet and capturing a pilot on Wednesday. Video of the man "blindfolded and apparently with blood on his face" was shown on Pakistani television, reports The Washington Post, with India saying it "strongly objected to Pakistan’s vulgar display of an injured personnel."

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Thursday that the pilot will be released and that "Pakistan wants peace, but it should not be treated as our weakness." He also said that releasing the pilot is a "first step to open negotiations," per The New York Times.

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had previously said that India and Pakistan, both of which have nuclear weapons, should "avoid escalation at any cost," while President Trump on Wednesday said, "We've been in the middle trying to help both out to see if we can get some organization and peace, and I think probably that's going to be happening."