Pakistan early on Saturday claimed that its three airbases were targeted by Indian missiles and drones. Pakistan military spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry told a hurriedly called press conference in Islamabad around 4am that Nur Khan (Chaklala, Rawalpindi), Murid (Chakwal) and Rafiqui (Shorkot in Jhang district) airbases of Pakistan Air Force were targeted.
The army spokesperson provided no details to back his claims.
The claims come amid heightened tensions with India over its ‘Operation Sindoor’, a retaliation for a terror attack that killed 26 people in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22.
Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi, where the Pakistan military has its headquarters, is around 10 kilometres from the capital Islamabad.
Sharif also claimed that some of India’s missiles also hit its Punjab and some also went into Afghanistan.
“But all assets of the Air Force remain safe,” he claimed.
India has fired air-to-surface missiles with its jets, he claimed.
He added that several missiles were intercepted by Pakistan’s air defence system.
Chaudhry said this is a “sinister act of India pushing the region into lethal war and Pakistan will respond to this aggression. India should wait for our response”.
He did not take any questions and ended the presser abruptly.
The Pakistan Airport Authority (PAA) issued a notification stating that Pakistan’s airspace has been closed from 3.15 am to 12 noon for all kinds of air traffic.
The PAA said it will share updates at 12 noon.
Pakistan launched a fresh wave of drone attacks targeting 26 locations in India – from Jammu and Kashmir to Gujarat – for the second night on Friday, with the defence ministry saying the enemy’s attempts to hit vital installations, including airports and air bases, were successfully thwarted.
On Thursday evening, Indian air defence units intercepted at least eight missiles fired by Pakistan towards the border areas of Jammu, including the strategically important Jammu airport, defence sources had said.