From Chest-Thumping To Panic: How Pakistan Unwittingly Admitted India's Op Sindoor Supremacy
For days after India's Operation Sindoor, Pakistan's military and political establishment clung to its familiar playbook — denial, deflections and lofty claims of shooting down Indian jets. But in a series of awkward, contradictory, and ultimately revealing statements, key Pakistani leaders have inadvertently confirmed what India had signalled all along: that Operation Sindoor caught Islamabad off guard, hit critical military infrastructure, and left its leadership scrambling.
Rana Sanaullah's 45-Second Nuclear Panic
The most jarring admission came on July 3, when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's close aide Rana Sanaullah revealed that Pakistan's armed forces had only 30-45 seconds to determine if the incoming BrahMos missile launched by India carried a nuclear warhead.
In a televised interview that is now making headlines across both sides of the border, Rana Sanaullah, special assistant to the prime minister, said: 'When India fired a BrahMos missile at our Nur Khan airbase, our military had just 30 or 45 seconds to determine if it carried a nuclear warhead. Such a limited timeframe is extremely dangerous. If there had been any miscalculation, it could have triggered a nuclear response, potentially leading to global disaster."
This was the first on-record confirmation from a senior Pakistani official of the chaos and indecision triggered by India's strikes. The missile, launched during Operation Sindoor, hit the Nur Khan Airbase in Chaklala, Rawalpindi — a key Pakistan Air Force installation.
But it wasn't just Nur Khan. Satellite images released days later showed extensive damage across several Pakistani airbases — including Sargodha, Bholari, Jacobabad, Sukkur, and Rahim Yar Khan — with visible destruction to runways, hangars, and key operational buildings. The scale and precision of the strikes suggested that India had carefully mapped and degraded Pakistan's offensive capacity in a matter of minutes.
This wasn't the first sign that Pakistan was caught off guard.
Back on May 16, PM Shehbaz Sharif stunned many by recounting how he was woken up at 2:30 AM by Army Chief Asim Munir, who informed him that India had launched missile strikes on key Pakistani airbases — including Nur Khan. 'At around 2:30 am on May 10, General Syed Asim Munir called me on the secure line and informed that India's ballistic missiles had hit Nur Khan Airbase and other areas," Sharif said, according to Geo News. He added that Pakistan's air force had responded using 'homegrown technology" on Chinese-origin jets.
The Prime Minister's admission directly contradicted weeks of official Pakistani statements claiming 'no damage," 'Indian jets repelled," and 'misinformation by Indian media." Sharif essentially confirmed what India had maintained — that Operation Sindoor was a limited but highly calibrated military strike meant to signal retribution for the Pahalgam terror attack.
Ishaq Dar's Blunt Confession
In what is arguably the most direct and damaging admission from the Pakistani establishment, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar publicly acknowledged that India struck two key airbases—Nur Khan near Rawalpindi and Shorkot in Punjab—during Operation Sindoor.
Speaking in an interview on Geo News, Dar said: 'India attacked the Nur Khan and Shorkot airbases. They launched missile strikes at 2:30 am, hitting our infrastructure just as we were preparing our response. India moved first, and they hit us."
He further revealed that Pakistan immediately sought diplomatic assistance to de-escalate: 'Within 45 minutes, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan called me and asked: 'Can I tell [Indian External Affairs Minister] Jaishankar that Pakistan is ready for a ceasefire if India stops?' I said, 'Yes, brother, you can.' He then called me back to confirm."
Dar's remarks dismantled weeks of official Pakistani denials that dismissed Indian claims of damage.
Khawaja Asif's Misfires And Mixed Messaging
Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has played an unusually revealing role, often attempting to project strength, only to undermine it.
In an interview with CNN's Becky Anderson, Asif had claimed Pakistan shot down five Indian fighter jets during the operation—including a Rafale. When pressed, he cited 'social media posts" as evidence — only to be fact-checked live, with Anderson pointing out that the footage was taken from video games and archived war clips. Asif sheepishly admitted: 'I'm not saying it's authentic."
Adding to the inconsistency, Asif confirmed in late June that Pakistan remained on high alert after the strikes and that it was receiving intelligence support from China. Meant to reassure, the statement unintentionally revealed dependence on external surveillance, exposing vulnerability at the strategic level, especially for a nuclear-armed state that routinely champions its sovereignty.
Bottom Line: Pakistan's Own Words Confirm India's Win
Despite weeks of chest-thumping, Pakistan's top ministers have, in their own words, confirmed that India's military response was fast, sharp, and effective.
India's objective was to take out Pakistan-based terror camps — an infrastructure Islamabad has long denied. But Operation Sindoor also delivered a blow to Pakistan's military confidence and strategic narrative.
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The operation began on May 7, in direct response to the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22, which claimed 26 lives, mostly civilians. In its initial phase, the Indian Air Force focused on dismantling terror camps linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Intelligence reports estimated that over 100 terrorists were neutralised in these strikes.
But when Pakistan attempted a retaliatory military response, including plans to target Indian cities and key installations, India escalated. In a decisive second phase, carried out on the night of May 9–10, Indian forces struck a string of major Pakistani airbases including Nur Khan, Sargodha, Jacobabad, Murid, and Rafiqui, inflicting damage that Islamabad is still struggling to publicly account for — even as its top ministers slowly, and inadvertently, begin to do so.
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Karishma Jain
Karishma Jain, Chief Sub Editor at News18.com, writes and edits opinion pieces on a variety of subjects, including Indian politics and policy, culture and the arts, technology and social change. Follow her @kar...Read More
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BrahMos missile Operation Sindoor pahalgam terror attack
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First Published:
July 04, 2025, 13:44 IST
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