When Israel And India Nearly Bombed Pakistan's Kahuta Nuclear Site, But Indira Gandhi Backed Out

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According to a TOI report, Israel had drawn up a dramatic blueprint in the early 1980s to replicate its infamous 1981 airstrike on Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor
The ongoing war between Israel and Iran, marked by missile exchanges and intensifying hostilities, has revived memories of a covert operation that was once poised to redraw the nuclear map of South Asia. In the shadow of Tel Aviv's current offensive against Iran's nuclear assets, a nearly executed strike plan from the 1980s has returned to global discourse, a joint Israeli-Indian mission to destroy Pakistan's burgeoning nuclear program.
According to a detailed report published by The Times of India, Israel had drawn up a dramatic blueprint in the early 1980s to replicate its infamous 1981 airstrike on Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor, targeting Pakistan's highly guarded Kahuta facility. The plan was more audacious than its predecessor, involving Israeli F-15 and F-16 fighter jets taking off from airbases at Jamnagar and Udhampur, supported by India's own Jaguar aircraft.
The central fear driving Israel's proposal was the possibility of Pakistan passing nuclear know-how to hostile nations. Then-Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin even expressed alarm to his British counterpart, Margaret Thatcher, over growing ties between Islamabad and Tripoli. There was deep anxiety in Tel Aviv that Pakistani scientists could transfer atomic secrets to Libya, a regime then seen as a nuclear wild card.
India's then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi initially greenlit the operation, giving the impression of a rare military and strategic alignment between India and Israel. But the plan was eventually abandoned, just weeks later. The domestic situation in India was spiraling as Bhindranwale's separatist movement was gaining ground in Punjab, unrest was spreading in Jammu and Kashmir, and India's standoff with Pakistan over the Siachen Glacier was heating up.
Moreover, the geopolitical risks were deemed too great. US intelligence reportedly caught wind of the plan and subtly passed warnings to Pakistan, which promptly threatened retaliatory airstrikes using its newly acquired American F-16s. The US, then deeply enmeshed in backing Pakistan's efforts in Afghanistan against Soviet forces, was unlikely to support any action that destabilised Islamabad.
Indira Gandhi, wary of triggering a full-blown war in the subcontinent, backed off. After her assassination in 1984, the plan was buried for good. Rajiv Gandhi, who succeeded her as Prime Minister, formally shelved the operation. By then, Pakistan's nuclear program had made significant advances, and the window for pre-emption had closed.
In a twist of diplomatic restraint, both countries took a historic step in 1988. India and Pakistan signed an agreement pledging not to attack each other's nuclear facilities. Since then, the two rivals have exchanged lists of their nuclear installations every January 1 as part of a confidence-building measure that still holds, even amid border skirmishes and political tensions.
First Published:
June 16, 2025, 17:06 IST