Pakistan: Shehbaz’s U-turn; admits Indian missiles attacked Nur Khan Airbase
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: With India unrelenting in its anti-terror drive internationally, Prime Minister Muhammed Shehbaz Sharief, who rode a battle tank on Thursday and delivered the usual rhetoric before morose Pakistani soldiers, suddenly took a U-turn and admitted that the neighbour attacked several targets, including the Nur Khan Airbase, the media reported on Saturday.
His U-turn came after his elder brother, Nawaz Sharief, reportedly advised him to cool down his rhetoric and try to improve relations with India.
After failing to pull the wool on suspecting eyes at home and abroad, as few believed in Pakistan’s perceived ‘victories,’ he confirmed on Friday that India launched ballistic missile strikes on Nur Khan Airbase and other locations on May 10, marking a rare moment of candour in Pakistan’s typically guarded response to Indian military actions.
Addressing an event at the Pakistan Monument on Friday, Sharif revealed that he was informed of the strikes by the Chief of Army Staff, General Syed Asim Munir, during the early hours of that day.
“At around 2:30 am on May10, General Syed Asim Munir called me on a secure line and informed me that India’s ballistic missiles have hit Nur Khan Airbase and other areas. Our Air Force used homegrown technology to save our country, and they even used modern gadgets and technology on Chinese jets,” Sharif said, according to Geo News.
This direct confirmation starkly contrasts with Pakistan’s usual policy of denying or downplaying Indian military operations on its soil.
The missile strikes came during the Operation Sindoor, launched by India on May 7 as a retaliatory action against the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives.
Indian armed forces targeted terror camps and infrastructure deep within Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Their coordinated strikes killed over 100 terrorists linked to terror groups including Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and Hizbul Mujahideen.
After the initial strikes, a panicked Pakistan responded with cross-border shelling of civilian areas along the Line of Control (LoC) and Jammu and Kashmir. Drone incursions were also attempted in several border areas, but failed.
India then launched a second wave of missile strikes, destroying key radar systems, communication centres, and airfield facilities across 11 Pakistani airbases, severely impairing Pakistan’s military infrastructure.
The exchange of fire and airstrikes came to a halt after the two countries agreed to a cessation of hostilities on May 10, shortly after the final wave of Indian strikes.
The recent developments mark one of the most serious military escalations between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in recent years.
