New Delhi: After Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif’s admission of damage to his country’s air bases in Indian strikes during Operation Sindoor, senior Pakistani journalist and commentator Moeed Pirzada has said that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) may have been completely grounded had India carried out her attacks for 48 more hours.
Pirzada has also debunked claims by his country that a missile attack on India’s Udhampur air base caused significant damage. Citing a New York Times report, backed by satellite imagery, he said that Pakistan’s missile attacks failed to inflict any real damage on India, while Indian forces successfully hit over 24 targets inside Pakistan with pinpoint precision.
“The missiles Pakistan fired didn’t cause any damage to India. But India used two to three types of missiles and struck more than 24 targets with pinpoint accuracy. Pakistan’s claim about destroying the Udhampur Air Base is completely false. According to the New York Times report, not even the runway was damaged,” Pirzada said.
He also pointed out that, while India shared satellite images in its official briefings, Pakistan has not released any such evidence. Slamming the quality of military equipment his country has, the journalist said: “This clearly means the missiles Pakistan launched were not only ineffective but also likely inaccurate.”
He went on to say that Pakistan even begged the United States to mediate a ceasefire after suffering major damage.
“The Trump-inspired ceasefire did not go down well with the people of India. However, had its precision strikes continued every 6-8 hours for the next 48 hours, we would have had very few runways remaining. There would have been a crisis even if we had managed to repair the runways quickly or use our motorways as runways. The Indian BrahMos missiles could have destroyed our motorways even. I believe that this was a major crisis for Pakistan and the US and Donald Trump bailed us out,” Pirzada is heard saying.
“One should not suffer from a wrong impression. The common man should not be misled. We will not have the US by our side at all times. Neither will we be able to play the nuclear card on every occasion. Hopefully, there will be no more trouble (like the one in Pahalgam) inside India in the years to come. I know that this may hurt your sentiments, but the reality has to be accepted. You will have to accept these realities if you wish to stay alive,” he urged the common man in Pakistan.
He also expressed frustration over being targeted for speaking the truth. “Whenever we speak the truth, they file cybercrime charges against us,” he said. Pirzada has now been booked by Pakistan’s National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) for allegedly running a hate campaign against state institutions through social media. The agency has accused him of spreading false and inflammatory content, despite his revelations being backed by international sources and satellite data.
