‘Had Only 30 Seconds To React’: Pak PM’s Aide on India’s BrahMos Strike

A top aide to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has made a startling revelation, admitting that the country’s military had a window of just 30 to 45 seconds to determine if an Indian BrahMos cruise missile was armed with a nuclear warhead during the cross-border conflict in May.

Rana Sanaullah, a special assistant to the Pakistani PM, said in a recent interview that the missile strike on the Nur Khan airbase during India’s ‘Operation Sindoor’ created widespread panic and a “dangerous situation” that could have spiralled into an atomic war.

“When India fired BrahMos at Nur Khan airbase, Pakistan’s military had only seconds to determine if it was nuclear. That’s a dangerous situation,” Sanaullah stated. The admission underscores the intensity of the conflict and the high-stakes military calculations that were at play.

Sanaullah also claimed that President Donald Trump played a crucial role in brokering a ceasefire between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. He credited Trump with having “saved the world from disaster,” and said this was the reason Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had nominated the former US President for a Nobel Peace Prize.

However, India has repeatedly and firmly rejected any claims of third-party mediation. New Delhi has consistently maintained that the ceasefire was the result of direct negotiations between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan, which was initiated at Islamabad’s request following significant damage from Indian strikes.

The BrahMos missile that caused the panic struck the high-value Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi, a key installation of the Pakistan Air Force. The strike was part of ‘Operation Sindoor’, which India launched on May 10 in retaliation for a terrorist attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 Indian tourists. As part of the operation, India fired several BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles at multiple Pakistani airbases, causing extensive damage to runways, hangars, and other military infrastructure.

Sanaullah’s statement is the latest in a series of admissions from senior Pakistani officials about the effectiveness of India’s military action, which contrasts sharply with the initial denials by the Pakistani government and military. Just two weeks ago, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar had also admitted that India successfully attacked two important airbases.