Bhubaneswar: Pakistan Army’s DG ISPR Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, in a late night press briefing, claimed that three of its air bases, including one on the outskirts of Islamabad near the army headquarters, had been attacked by Indian missiles.
“India, with its naked aggression has attacked with missiles. Nur Khan base, Murid base, and Shorkot base have been targeted,” he said in a live broadcast aired by state television.
Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi, where the Pakistan military has its headquarters, is around 10 km from the capital Islamabad.
He asserted that “all assets” are safe and concluded by saying, “Now you just wait for our response”.
Following this claim, Pakistan Airports Authority issued NOTAM shutting off its entire airspace from 03:15 am to 12:00 pm local time, according to Reuters, which further reported about multiple explosions in Northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar.
Earlier, Pakistani drones were sighted at 26 locations ranging from Baramulla in the north to Bhuj in the south, along both the IB and the LOC. These included suspected armed drones posing potential threats to civilian and military targets.
According to reports, Pakistan targeted more than 36 places in 20 India cities with drones and missiles on civilian and military areas in the last 48 hours.
India had earlier accused Pakistan of using its civil airlines as a “shield” for its massive drone attacks, targeting Indian cities and civilian infrastructure in addition to some military targets, by allowing civil aircraft to operate close to the international border.
On the night of May 8-9, the Pakistan Army also violated Indian airspace multiple times along the entire Western border with the intention of targeting military infrastructure, the Indian Army said.