Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has confirmed that Islamabad requested a ceasefire from New Delhi after India targeted the Nur Khan and other key air bases during Operation Sindoor.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has confirmed that Islamabad requested a ceasefire from New Delhi after India targeted the Nur Khan and other key air bases in Rawalpindi and Punjab province during Operation Sindoor, a retaliatory strike following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.
Appearing on a TV news show, Dar said the Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi and Shorkot air base - known as PAF Base Rafiqui - in Punjab province were struck by India. It was at this juncture that Pakistan reached out to the US for its intervention and also took assistance from Saudi Arabia.
The Nur Khan air base is one of Pakistan's most sensitive military compounds that houses both air force operations and VIP transport units.
Related Articles
Dar also revealed that within just 45 minutes of the Indian strikes, Saudi Prince Faisal bin Salman personally contacted him right after the strikes. "Saudi Prince Faisal bin Salman called and asked if he could tell Jaishankar that Pakistan is ready to stop," Dar told Geo News. The prince wanted to speak to Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Pakistan’s behalf to calm the situation.
"...unfortunately, India once again launched missile strikes at 2.30am. They attacked the Nur Khan air base and Shorkot air base... Within 45 minutes, Saudi Prince Faisal called me. He said he had then just learnt about my conversation with (US Secretary of State) Marco Rubio. He asked if he was authorised to talk to (India's External Affairs Minister) S Jaishankar and convey that we are ready if they (India) stop. I said yes, brother, you can. He then called me back, saying he had conveyed the same to Jaishankar," Dar said.
Dar's confession stands in contrast to earlier statements by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other senior Pakistani officials, who had asserted that Pakistan had delivered a strong response to India.
Operation Sindoor
On the intervening night of May 7 and 8, India launched Operation Sindoor and destroyed infrastructure in nine terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), in response to the April 22 in Jammu & Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists.
The operation, however, escalated bilateral tensions as it led to strikes and counter-strikes between the two nations.
