Overview
- Dar’s on-record acknowledgment marks the clearest Pakistani admission to date that India’s May strikes damaged the Pakistan Air Force facility at Nur Khan in Rawalpindi.
- He said Pakistani defenses intercepted 79 of roughly 80 drones, while one hit a military installation at Nur Khan and injured personnel stationed there.
- Commercial satellite imagery published in May by Maxar documented damage at multiple Pakistani air bases, including Nur Khan, Mushaf (Sargodha), Bholari and Shahbaz (Jacobabad).
- India launched Operation Sindoor after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, first hitting nine terror launchpads before expanding to target several Pakistani airbases; Pakistan’s DGMO later proposed a ceasefire that India accepted on May 10.
- The scale of losses remains disputed, with Indian commentators citing Pakistani media lists and civilian-shot videos to argue heavier casualties, as President Asif Ali Zardari separately recalled being urged to take bunker shelter during the escalation.