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Had only 30-45 seconds to react: Pakistan PM's aide on India's BrahMos strike during Operation Sindoor

Had only 30-45 seconds to react: Pakistan PM's aide on India's BrahMos strike during Operation Sindoor

New Indian Express11 hours ago
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's advisor Rana Sanaullah has revealed that Pakistan's military had only 30 to 45 seconds to assess whether the BrahMos cruise missile fired by India during Operation Sindoor was carrying a nuclear warhead - a moment he described as dangerously close to triggering a nuclear conflict.
The BrahMos missile, which struck Pakistan's Nur Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi during the intense cross-border military exchanges in May, forced Islamabad into a high-stakes, time-critical decision-making window.
Speaking to a Pakistani news channel, Sanaullah said, 'When India fired a BrahMos missile at our Nur Khan airbase, our military had just 30 or 45 seconds to determine if it carried a nuclear warhead. Such a limited timeframe is extremely dangerous. If there had been any miscalculation, it could have triggered a nuclear response, potentially leading to global disaster.'
The missile strike was part of India's Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, which killed 26 people, mostly civilians. The Indian Air Force targeted terror infrastructure across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, destroying camps linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen. Over 100 terrorists were reportedly killed during the operation.
Initially, India focused on eliminating terror camps, but after Pakistan attempted a military response targeting Indian border cities and key installations, India escalated by striking multiple Pakistani airbases, including Sargodha, Jacobabad, Murid, Rafiqui, and Nur Khan on the night of May 9-10.
The strike on Nur Khan airbase was later confirmed by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who disclosed that Army Chief Asim Munir called him at 2.30 am to inform him of the attack.
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