Pakistan Admit of having Begged for Ceasefire after its Airbases Pounded by India

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, June 20: In a delayed but candid admission, Pakistan has now accepted that it had reached a position of helplessness after India’s pounding of its airbases when it was forced to reach out to some of the countries to pressure India to accept ceasefire during the “Operation Sindoor” launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has said the country was compelled to request a ceasefire with India last month after the latter struck two of its air bases in Rawalpindi and Punjab province during “Operation Sindoor.”

Appearing on a TV news show, Mr Dar said the Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi and Shorkot air base – known as PAF Base Rafiqui – in Punjab province were struck by India. It was at this juncture that Pakistan reached out to the US for its intervention and also took assistance from Saudi Arabia. The Nur Khan air base is one of Pakistan’s most sensitive military compounds that houses both air force operations and VIP transport units.

“…unfortunately, India once again launched missile strikes at 2.30am. They attacked the Nur Khan air base and Shorkot air base… Within 45 minutes, Saudi Prince Faisal called me. He said he had then just learnt about my conversation with (US Secretary of State) Marco Rubio. He asked if he was authorised to talk to (India’s External Affairs Minister) S Jaishankar and convey that we are ready if they (India) stop. I said yes, brother, you can. He then called me back, saying he had conveyed the same to Jaishankar,” Mr Dar said.

On the intervening night of May 7 and 8, India launched Operation Sindoor and destroyed infrastructure in nine terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), in response to the April 22 in Jammu & Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists. The operation, however, escalated bilateral tensions as it led to strikes and counter-strikes between the two nations. The Pakistani actions were strongly responded to by the Indian side.

According to the government sources, US officials were already in contact with both sides in anticipation of escalating tensions. While maintaining a neutral posture in public, it reportedly conveyed a firm message to Islamabad: Use the official military hotline and de-escalate without further delay. The US “practically ordered” the Pakistani side to activate its direct line to the Indian Army and avoid any delay.

By the afternoon of May 10, after several of Pakistan’s more aggressive tactical postures were repelled by India, Major General Kashif Abdullah, Pakistan’s DGMO, placed a direct call to his Indian counterpart, Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai. The timing of the call, 1535 hrs IST, was later confirmed by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri at a press briefing.

Both sides then reached an agreement to stop all firing and military action on land, air and sea, with effect from 5pm that day. Pakistan, however, violated the agreement within hours of it coming into effect.

Nur Khan is a strategic air base situated between Rawalpindi and Islamabad – the two nerve centres of Pakistan. The former is the headquarters of the Pakistan military, and the latter is the political power centre of the country. The PAF Base Rafiqui, on the other hand, functions as one of Pakistan’s principal fighter air bases, housing an array of combat aircraft, including the Chinese-made JF-17 fighter jets, French-built Mirage 5 fighters, and Alouette III helicopters.

Earlier, Pakistan’s retired Air Marshal Masood Akhtar had admitted to losing the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft during Operation Sindoor. In an interview with Pakistani media, he had said the aircraft that provided long-range radar surveillance and control of airspace was destroyed in one of India’s precision missile strikes at Islamabad’s Bholari air base.

Meanwhile, official sources said China would supply 40 Shenyang J-35 fifth-generation stealth fighter jets to Pakistan. With the J-35 induction, Pakistan joins a small group of countries operating stealth technology. The Indian Air Force (IAF), which currently lacks any stealth fighters in operational service, is still at least a decade away from inducting its indigenous fifth-generation stealth aircraft – the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). Official estimates place the AMCA’s induction around 2035.

Several veteran IAF officers felt that the Indian Air Force has long maintained air superiority over Pakistan, based on superior training, tactics, and a more diversified inventory and the J-35 deliveries threaten to narrow that advantage.