As India awaits the return of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman after he was captured by the Pakistan army, the national capital has been put on high alert.

According to reports, a high alert statement said that after carrying out a terror attack on CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama, the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) now wants to attack the high-value targets in Delhi.

National Defence College, Sena Bhawan, Israeli Embassy, Embassy of USA and UK, Chief Justice House, Delhi airport parking area, Rashtrapati Bhawan, Delhi railway station, Delhi University and AIIMS are the top targets of the terror groups amid the India-Pakistan tensions.

Other prominent cities including Mumbai are also on high alert on the basis of inputs by security and intelligence agencies.

According to Union Ministry officials, police in Delhi and Mumbai have put the Metros on red alert.

Tensions escalated as Indian and Pakistani fighter jets engaged in an aerial combat on Wednesday morning.

Pakistani Air Force jets violated Indian airspace in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri sector on Wednesday morning and attempted to target Indian military installations, but missed their targets. They were immediately pushed back by Indian jets on air patrol, who also shot down a Pakistani F-16 whose wreckage fell on the other side of the LoC.

The IAF officer was captured on Wednesday after his MiG-21 Bison fighter jet was hit during an air combat with Pakistan Air Force jets near the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir and he landed on the other side of the LoC.

Following this, a high alert was sounded in all major airports including that of Jammu, Srinagar and Amritsar.

Read | India protests ‘vulgar display’ of injured IAF pilot by Pakistan, demands his safe return

India on Wednesday lodged a strong protest with Pakistan over the “unprovoked act of aggression” against the country and strongly objected to its “vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force” in violation of all norms of the International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention.

It was made clear to the Pakistani side that Islamabad would be well advised to ensure that no harm came to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. India also expected his immediate and safe return.

Following this on Thursday, the Pakistan government announced that the IAF pilot would be released on Friday as a “gesture of peace”.

Suggesting that India was not considering de-escalation yet, top commanders of the armed forces on Thursday assured the nation that the three services were in a “heightened state of alert” and ready to give a befitting response to any misadventure by Pakistan.