India foiled Pakistan’s planned offensive on the intervening night of May 9 and May 10 by firing BrahMos missiles, the country’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has admitted in a public speech.
Speaking at an event in Azerbaijan, Sharif said that the Pakistani armed forces had planned to attack India before morning prayers, but before it could do so, several provinces of Pakistan were attacked by BrahMos missiles.
“On the night of May 9-10, we decided to respond in a measured fashion to Indian aggression. Our armed forces were prepared to act at 4.30 in the morning after Fajr prayers to teach a lesson. But before that hour even arrived, India once again launched a missile attack using BrahMos, targeting various provinces of Pakistan, including the airport in Rawalpindi,” Sharif said in his speech.
India’s Operation Sindoor
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the April 22 Pahalgam attack, which claimed 26 lives.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, targeting terrorist infrastructure at nine locations in territories controlled by Pakistan, killing more than 100 terrorists.
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The operation also destroyed terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, from where terrorist attacks against India were planned and directed.
This triggered four days of clashes, with both sides using drones, missiles and long-range weapons and raising fears of an all-out war.
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On May 10, India’s military conducted strikes on eight Pakistani airbases, including Murid and Nur Khan air bases, in retaliation for Pakistani attacks on a range of military facilities earlier the same day.
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The targets hit by the Indian Air Force included runways, hangars, command and control centres, radar bases, missile sites and weapon storage areas. An understanding was reached between both countries to cease hostilities later that day.