Explosions Heard At 3 Pak Air Bases, Airspace Shut To All Air Traffic: Reports
New Delhi:
Powerful explosions were reported early Saturday across multiple Pakistani air bases, including a critical installation near the capital Islamabad, prompting the Pakistani government to shut down the country’s airspace to all civilian and commercial traffic.
The Pakistani military has claimed that the blasts occurred at three air force installations, including the Nur Khan Air Base in Rawalpindi, a key site less than 10 kilometres from Islamabad and adjacent to the country’s military headquarters.
Multiple videos circulating on Pakistani media and social media purportedly show the Nur Khan Air Base on fire following a huge explosion. NDTV could not independently verify these videos. Eyewitnesses described loud, successive blasts followed by a flurry of military activity on the ground.
The Nur Khan facility, formerly known as Chaklala Air Base, is one of Pakistan’s most sensitive military compounds, housing both air force operations and VIP transport units.
According to the Pakistani military, besides the Nur Khan air base, the Murid air base in Chakwal city and Rafiqui air base in the Jhang district of Punjab province have also been hit.
The Indian called for a press conference at 5:45 AM today which was later postponed to 10 AM.
Pakistan today shut down its airspace for all air traffic, hours after India accused it of sing commercial flights as shields amid drone attacks. The decision, notified through a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), came amid heightened tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
The move follows a night of intense drone activity along India’s northern and western borders, after Pakistan launched a coordinated wave of drone attacks targeting military infrastructure across 26 locations, ranging from Leh in the north to Sir Creek in the south. Several of the targeted sites included key airfields, forward military bases, and civil aviation facilities. India successfully repelled each attack.
