Pakistan has once again found itself on the defensive after a senior government official publicly acknowledged the impact of India’s precision strikes on a key military installation during the sharp military escalation in May. The admission, made months after the incident, has brought renewed attention to Operation Sindoor and the brief but intense standoff between the two neighbours following the deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

Speaking at a year end press briefing on Saturday, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed that India had targeted the Nur Khan Air Base in Rawalpindi’s Chaklala area. Dar acknowledged that the strike caused damage to the military installation and resulted in injuries to personnel stationed there, marking one of the clearest public admissions by a top Pakistani leader of Indian military action on Pakistani air bases.

Pakistan’s Rare Public Admission

Addressing reporters, Dar described the scale of what he called Indian drone activity during the escalation. He claimed that India launched multiple drone incursions into Pakistani territory within a short span of time. “They send drones towards Pakistan. In 36 hours, at least 80 drones were sent. We were able to intercept 79 drones out of 80, and only one drone damaged a military installation and personnel were also injured in the attack,” he said, according to ANI.

While seeking to underline Pakistan’s defensive response, Dar went on to acknowledge that the Nur Khan Air Base was struck in the early hours of May 10. He said Pakistan’s civil and military leadership, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, convened an emergency meeting on the night of May 9 to assess the situation and decide on further steps. His remark that India “made the mistake” of attacking the air base further reinforced the confirmation that the installation was hit.

Such acknowledgements are rare in Pakistan’s official narrative, which has traditionally avoided conceding damage from Indian military action. Analysts say the statement reflects the difficulty of sustaining denial in the face of satellite imagery, international reporting and previous admissions by senior leaders.

Operation Sindoor and the May Military Escalation

The strikes on Pakistani air bases came after Operation Sindoor, launched by the Indian Armed Forces in the early hours of May 7. The operation targeted nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir, following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians.

After the operation, the situation quickly escalated. Pakistan increased cross border shelling, while Indian forces carried out retaliatory actions. Nur Khan Air Base, one of the most sensitive military installations in Pakistan due to its proximity to Islamabad and Rawalpindi, emerged as a key site affected by Indian precision strikes.

The confrontation took an unexpected turn when Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations contacted his Indian counterpart to propose a ceasefire. India accepted the proposal, a development later confirmed by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, who said both sides agreed to halt all military operations on land, at sea and in the air.

Satellite Images and Earlier Admissions Strengthen India’s Claims

Independent evidence also backed India’s claims of damage. Satellite imagery released by Maxar Technologies on May 13 showed visible damage at multiple Pakistani air bases. According to the images, four installations were affected: Nur Khan Air Base in Rawalpindi, PAF Base Mushaf in Sargodha, Bholari Air Base and PAF Base Shahbaz in Jacobabad. A comparison of images taken on April 25 and May 10 revealed clear damage to air base infrastructure.

This was not the first time Pakistan’s leadership acknowledged the strike on Nur Khan Air Base. In May, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had admitted that Indian ballistic missiles had hit the base and other locations, breaking from Pakistan’s usual practice of denial. Addressing a ceremony at the Pakistan Monument on May 16, Sharif said that at around 2:30 am on May 10, Army chief General Syed Asim Munir informed him that Indian missiles had struck Nur Khan Air Base and other areas, according to Geo News.

Together, these admissions mark a significant shift in Pakistan’s public stance on the May escalation. They underline the impact of Operation Sindoor and signal how difficult it has become for Islamabad to maintain ambiguity in an era of real time satellite tracking and global scrutiny. For India, the confirmations strengthen its claim of having carried out calibrated and effective strikes, even as both sides continue to stress the importance of preventing future escalations.

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