Pakistan Admits Requesting Ceasefire After Indian Strikes Damaged Key Air Bases

In a rare and candid admission, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has confirmed that it was Islamabad that requested a ceasefire following Indian missile strikes on two of Pakistan’s major air bases. The strikes were part of India’s retaliatory Operation Sindoor, launched in response to the deadly April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 dead.

Speaking on a television news show, Dar revealed that the Indian Air Force targeted Nur Khan Air Base near Rawalpindi and Shorkot Air Base in Punjab province. “Unfortunately, India once again launched missile strikes at 2:30 AM. They attacked the Nur Khan and Shorkot air bases,” Dar said.

He went on to recount a critical diplomatic exchange that followed the strikes. “Within 45 minutes, Saudi Prince Faisal called me. He said he had just learned about my conversation with (US Secretary of State) Marco Rubio and asked if he could speak with India’s External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, to convey that Pakistan was ready to talk if India stopped. I told him, ‘Yes, brother, you can.’ He later called back and said he had conveyed the message,” Dar recounted in a video that has since gone viral.

This is the first official acknowledgment by Pakistan that it sought de-escalation following significant military losses.

Earlier, Pakistan had admitted that one of its aircraft sustained damage during the Indian operation. At a press conference, Pakistan Army spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that “only one aircraft” had suffered “minor damage,” but offered no further details.

On the other hand, Indian forces shot down several sophisticated Pakistani fighter jets during Operation Sindoor, according to Air Marshal AK Bharti, Director General of Air Operations. He stressed that all Indian pilots had returned safely, even though he recognised that India had also suffered battle casualties.

About two weeks after the Pahalgam terror incident on April 22, which Indian officials connected to militant groups based in Pakistan, Operation Sindoor was initiated. The operation's main goal was to utilise coordinated drone and missile strikes to destroy militant infrastructure throughout Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Both nations agreed to end hostilities following four days of fierce cross-border activity. One of the most significant military escalations between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in recent years was purportedly put to a stop on May 10 with the finalisation of a ceasefire deal.