Embattled Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has revealed that he was woken up by the Army chief early last saturday to inform about an Indian missile hitting an airbase less than 25 km from the capital among other places.
According to PTI, Sharif’s comment came a week after India and Pakistan announced to have reached an understanding to end the military confrontation after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes following the Pahalgam terror attack.
On May 10, Pakistan military spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry had told a hurriedly called press conference in Islamabad at around 4 am that Nur Khan (Chaklala, Rawalpindi), Murid (Chakwal) and Rafiqui (Shorkot in Jhang district) air bases of Pakistan Air Force were targeted by Indian missiles.
Among these, Nur Khan air base is less than 25 kilometres from the Islamabad Capital Territory.
On Friday night, Sharif was addressing a gathering on Friday night here to observe the Youm-e-Tashakur (Day of Thanks) for the ‘success against India’ when he recalled the events leading to the retaliation by Pakistan.
“I got a call at 2:30 (Saturday) on a secure phone from army chief General Syed Asim Munir who informed me that India just now launched ballistic missiles and one of them fell at the Nur Khan Airport and the other fell in some other areas,” the prime minister said.
General Munir’s voice exhumed a lot of confidence, self-respect and extreme love for the country, he said. Munir asked for permission ‘to slap the enemy in the face that will be remembered for all times to come,’ he claimed.
Sharif said that Pakistan launched a counter-attack and listed Indian areas, including Pathankot, Udhampur and other places that were hit by Pakistani missiles.
