New Delhi: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has publicly acknowledged that Indian forces preemptively struck key Pakistani military sites, including the Rawalpindi airport, just hours before Islamabad was set to launch a retaliatory offensive.
Speaking at the Pakistan-Turkey-Azerbaijan trilateral summit in Lachin Thursday, Sharif confirmed that Pakistan’s military, under Field Marshal and Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir, had prepared a targeted strike against India in the early hours of 10 May.
“On the night of the 9th and 10th, we decided to respond in a measured fashion to Indian aggression. Our forces were set to act at 4.30 am after Fajr prayers. However, before we could execute our plan, India launched BrahMos missile attacks, targeting military installations across Pakistan, including the airport in Rawalpindi,” Sharif said.
India initiated these precision strikes under “Operation Sindoor”, using its advanced BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles. The operation was intended as a retaliatory response to the 22 April terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, where 26 people were killed.
Amid mounting hostilities, a cessation of military hostilities was declared on 10 May after Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) reached out to his Indian counterpart to halt military actions.
At the trilateral summit, PM Sharif praised the solidarity shown by Turkey and Azerbaijan during the conflict, highlighting the support of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
“When Pakistan was attacked by India, my very dear brother President Erdoğan and our brothers and sisters in Turkey stood by Pakistan like a formidable fortress,” Sharif said.
“President Ilham Aliyev and the people of Azerbaijan also showed immediate and heartfelt solidarity. It was one of the finest moments in our history—three brotherly nations standing together like a family in difficult times. We will never forget this,” he added.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
Also read: As Op Sindoor began, India’s top military brass watched strikes unfold live from South Block