In a rare and significant public admission, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed that Indian ballistic missiles struck the Nur Khan Airbase and several other strategic locations inside Pakistan during the early hours of May 10, 2025.

Speaking at a ceremony in Islamabad, Sharif recounted receiving a secure call at 2:30 AM from Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir, who informed him that India had launched its missiles, with one landing at the Nur Khan Airbase-an installation of major strategic importance situated between Rawalpindi and Islamabad and previously targeted during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war.

This unprecedented admission marks a departure from Pakistan's typical policy of denying Indian military strikes on its soil. The Indian operation, codenamed Operation Sindoor, was a large-scale, coordinated military response launched on May 7 following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which resulted in the deaths of 26 Indian civilians.

According to Indian government sources, the campaign aimed to dismantle terror infrastructure and strategic military assets across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), involving the Indian Air Force, Army, and Navy in joint strikes on airfields, radar stations, and communication hubs at a minimum of 11 locations.

Among the first targets hit in the early hours of May 10 were the Pakistan Air Force bases at Chaklala (Nur Khan) and Sargodha, with satellite imagery later confirming impacts at Jacobabad, Bholari, and Skardu. India reportedly launched around 15 BrahMos missiles and other precision weapons, damaging 11 of Pakistan’s 13 major airbases and significantly degrading its air defense network.

The Indian Air Force used pilotless target aircraft and kamikaze drones to provoke and disable Pakistani radars before unleashing the missile barrage, which also targeted hangars and critical military equipment, forcing the Pakistan Air Force to relocate its assets to rear bases.

Pakistan retaliated with artillery fire across the Line of Control (LoC) and launched multiple drone and missile attacks against Indian military infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir as well as parts of Punjab and Gujarat.

This escalation led to further Indian strikes on Pakistani radar and logistics infrastructure. Indian intelligence intercepted high-alert communications within Pakistani military networks, with analysts suggesting that Pakistan was preparing for possible attacks on its nuclear command-and-control nodes, prompting the Strategic Plans Division in Rawalpindi to go on maximum alert.

Amid fears of uncontrolled escalation, Pakistan urgently sought US intervention. The United States advised immediate communication via the official military hotline, leading to a call between Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), Major General Kashif Abdullah, and his Indian counterpart, Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai, at 15:35 IST on May 10.

Following this hotline contact, both nations agreed to cease all land, air, and sea-based military operations effective the evening of May 10. However, Indian radar systems continued to track and intercept Pakistani drones over Jammu and Kashmir and western Gujarat in the hours that followed.

India accused Pakistan of violating the ceasefire agreement and reaffirmed that the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, enacted in response to the Pahalgam attack, would remain in effect despite the ceasefire.

The events surrounding Operation Sindoor represent one of the most intense and transparent episodes of direct military confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in recent history, with both sides demonstrating significant escalation control mechanisms even amid high-stakes conflict.

Based On A NDTV Report