Islamabad/Baku, May 29, 2025: In a rare and significant admission, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has acknowledged that India’s BrahMos missile strikes preempted and derailed a planned Pakistani military offensive earlier this month. Speaking during his visit to Azerbaijan, Sharif confirmed that the Pakistani Army had intended to launch a retaliatory assault on India at 4:30 AM on May 10, following Fajr prayers.
However, before this operation could be executed, India carried out preemptive strikes using BrahMos missiles targeting critical military locations within Pakistan, including an airbase in Rawalpindi. This move, as per Sharif, directly disrupted Islamabad’s coordinated strike plan.
The escalation stemmed from the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, which claimed 26 Indian lives. In response, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, delivering precision strikes against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Over 100 terrorists were reported killed in the strikes targeting camps affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Hizbul Mujahideen.
India’s military retaliation continued with drone and missile operations, including airstrikes on multiple Pakistani military installations on May 10, the day of the planned Pakistani counterattack. Indian forces struck at least eight Pakistani airbases, including Murid and Nur Khan, destroying communication centers and air defence equipment.
The military escalation prompted urgent diplomatic intervention from global powers. A ceasefire agreement was eventually brokered by the United States, preventing further deterioration of the situation.
Sharif’s candid revelation underlines the strategic effectiveness of India’s missile capabilities and the high-stakes nature of recent tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. It also highlights how swiftly India’s response under Operation Sindoor altered the calculus of Pakistan’s military planning.
