In a significant admission, Pakistan's government has officially acknowledged the damage inflicted by India's precision airstrikes during Operation Sindoor earlier this year. The confirmation came from the country's top diplomat, marking a shift from Islamabad's previous denials.
Foreign Minister's Detailed Admission
During a year-end press briefing on 27 December, Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, provided details of the impact. He stated that India's targeted strikes in May caused damage to the strategically important Nur Khan Air Base, located in Rawalpindi's Chakala area, along with other military installations.
Dar elaborated that military personnel stationed at the base sustained injuries during the attack. He described the Indian operation as involving a swarm of drones, claiming that 80 drones were sent towards Pakistan within a 36-hour period. According to his account, Pakistani defenses intercepted 79 of them, but one drone successfully struck its target.
The Trigger: Operation Sindoor
The airstrikes, codenamed Operation Sindoor, were launched by the Indian Armed Forces in the early hours of 7 May. This military action was a direct response to the devastating Pahalgam terror attack on 22 April, which resulted in the loss of 26 lives.
India's strategic strikes targeted nine terrorist camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The list of targets included major hubs of groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, such as the Muridke and Bahawalpur camps. The operation demonstrated a clear focus on dismantling terror infrastructure.
Escalation and Ceasefire
Following the initial strikes, tensions escalated rapidly. Dar revealed that Pakistan's civil and military leadership held a crucial meeting on the night of 9 May and authorized specific decisions in response. Cross-border shelling continued for several days, intensifying the standoff.
The situation eventually de-escalated when Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) proposed a ceasefire to his Indian counterpart. This proposal was accepted, bringing active hostilities to a halt on 10 May.
This is not the first time a senior Pakistani figure has conceded the effectiveness of India's action. Earlier, in May, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif himself had acknowledged that Indian ballistic missiles struck the Nur Khan Airbase. The latest admission from the Foreign Minister adds official weight to these earlier reports, which were also supported by satellite imagery showing damage at multiple Pakistani air bases.
