India Hit Rawalpindi And Other Airbases With BrahMos Missiles Before Pakistan Could Act, Admits PM Shehbaz Sharif

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has acknowledged that the country’s military was caught off guard during India’s BrahMos missile strikes on the night of 9-10 May, which struck key Pakistan Air Force bases including the Rawalpindi airport, India Today reported.

At an event in Azerbaijan—one of the few countries that have backed Pakistan—Sharif revealed that the army under General Asim Munir had planned to attack India on 10 May after morning prayers.

But before that plan could be executed, India's long-range BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles had already struck multiple provinces across Pakistan.

Sharif stated that General Munir, who has now been promoted to Field Marshal rank, had briefed him on the early morning Indian missile strikes.

"On the night of 9-10 May, we decided to respond in a measured fashion to Indian aggression. Our armed forces were prepared to act at 4.30 in the morning after Fajr prayers to teach a lesson. But before that hour even arrived, India once again launched a missile attack using BrahMos, targeting various provinces of Pakistan, including the airport in Rawalpindi," Sharif said during his speech in Lachin.

Sharif’s rare candid confirmation of India’s military operation came in the presence of Asim Munir.

Among the 11 Pakistani military installations targeted by India, Rawalpindi’s Nur Khan airbase was a key site, hit in retaliation to Pakistan’s drone and missile attacks on Indian civilian areas along the western border.

In addition to Nur Khan, Indian strikes hit PAF air bases in Rafiqui, Murid, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, and Chunian.

Airbases at Skardu, Bholari, Jacobabad, and Sargodha reportedly also sustained major damage.

Around 15 BrahMos missiles were reportedly fired from India's Su-30MKI fighter aircraft to deliver precision strikes, with satellite images validating each target hit.

The ‘fire-and-forget’ BrahMos missiles with a range of 300 km, developed jointly with Russia, evaded Chinese-made Pakistani air defence systems and hit intended military sites.

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