IAF strikes at Pindi, two other vital bases forced Pak to seek US help
The Indian Air Force’s precision strikes on the Jacobabad, Chaklala (Rawalpindi) and Sargodha airbases in the early hours of May 10 forced Pakistan army chief General Asim Munir to contact US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, seeking assistance in de-escalating hostilities with New Delhi.
India targeted 11 Pakistani airbases and following the strikes, there was no military response from Islamabad as its air defence had collapsed, sources in the government said.
The three targeted airbases were critical due to their infrastructure and maintenance facilities for US-origin F-16 jets. These bases also store key armaments for the US jets and serve as hubs for F16 training and operations, the sources said.
After the strikes, General Munir spoke to Rubio, who urged India and Pakistan to find ways for de-escalation and offered US assistance in starting constructive talks to avoid further conflict. Rubio also spoke to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
Within hours of Gen Munir and Rubio’s conversation, Pakistan Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Maj Gen Kashif Abdullah called up his Indian counterpart Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai at 3.35 pm and suggested a pause in hostilities.
The sources said the proverbial last straw was the IAF strike at Chaklala, a key installation serving as a major transport hub for Pakistan’s military and home to its air-refuelling capability, essential to keep its fighter jets airborne. The strike was strategically vital as the airbase is only a short distance from the headquarters of Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division, which oversees and protects the country’s nuclear arsenal, now believed to include about 170 or more warheads.
Indian team meets UN panel on terror tag for TRF
New Delhi: An Indian team on Friday met the UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions committee, seeking to designate The Resistance Front (TRF), a LeT offshoot, as a terrorist group for its role in the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Sources said evidence had been presented to the UNSC 1267 sanctions regime regarding the TRF's role in the attack. A dossier pointing to involvement of the TRF and Pakistan was now with the UNSC committee, said the sources. The UNSC 1267 sanctions committee will meet this week over the issue. Pakistan, a non-permanent member of the UNSC, has been protecting the TRF at the council with support from China. TNS
By the time General Munir spoke to Rubio, India had inflicted the biggest military strike on Pakistan since the 1971 war between the two countries, said the sources. The strikes redefined the military parity between the two nuclear-armed neighbours and established what officials are calling as a “new normal”.
On May 10, the IAF had said Pakistani airbases at Sargodha, Jacobabad, Bholari, Rafiqui, Murid, Nur Khan at Chaklala (Rawalpindi), Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur and Chunian had suffered major damage. Two radar sites at Pasrur and Sialkot aviation base were also targeted.
The sources said the gap between India and Pakistan over technological and military sophistication along with application of power by the Indian armed forces titled the scales. Before seeking assistance from the US, the Pakistanis had realised they were not in the same league as India as they were unable to counter the attacks on their air defence system, the sources said.
