Shehbaz Sharif admits Pakistan caught unawares by Brahmos missile

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, notwithstanding his earlier claims of a military "victory" against India, on Thursday suddenly admitted that the Pakistan Army was "caught unawares" on the intervening night of May 9-10 when India used Brahmos missiles to strike, including the airport in Rawalpindi.

Sharif, who was speaking at an event in Azerbaijan, said Pakistan planned to attack India on May 10 after the morning prayers. Before Pakistan could act, India's long-range supersonic Brahmos cruise missiles hit multiple targets in Pakistan, across several provinces, Sharif admitted. Sharif said he was informed of the early morning attack by Gen Asim Munir, who has now been promoted to the rank of Field Marshal.

"Our armed forces were prepared to act at 4.30 in the morning (May 10) after the 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."

It is unclear why Sharif admitted a failure during a foreign trip and that too in the presence of Munir. In the past, moves by his elder brother Nawaz Sharif to mend fences with India as the PM was followed by the Pak Army launching attacks on India. On May 10, SU-30MKI launched Brahmos missiles, damaging the northern air command-control network at Nur Khan airbase, Chaklala, Rawalpindi.

Nur Khan is not only the home to the air refuelling capability that kept Pakistani fighter jets in the air, but it is also near the headquarters of Pakistan's Strategic Plans Division, which oversees and protects the country's nuclear arsenal.