Pakistan’s Rahim Yar Khan airbase, which was hit by Indian missiles during Operation Sindoor over three months ago, is still not operational, an indication of the extent of damage the strategic military installation suffered.
Pakistan’s Rahim Yar Khan airbase, which was hit by Indian missiles during Operation Sindoor over three months ago, is still not operational, an indication of the extent of damage the strategic military installation suffered. Pakistan airport authority has reportedly issued another ‘Notice to Airmen’, (Notam), for its runway, declaring it unusable till Aug 29, according to reports.
The airbase, located around 230 km south of Bahawalpur, holds a strategic place in Pakistan’s southern air defence due to its proximity to India’s Rajasthan border. It had suffered massive damage in the precision strikes carried out by India early in May. In May-end, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said at a rally in Rajasthan’s Bikaner that the airbase was in ‘ICU’.
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Located within the perimeters of an international airport, the airbase had issued the first Notam on the evening of May 10 declaring the runway non-operational for a week (May 18), and later extended it. Notam was again issued in early June, extending the closure of the airbase until July 4.
The airbase serves as a forward operating base for the Pakistan Air Force central command and was used heavily for military purposes.
Besides Rahim Yar Khan airbase, simultaneous attacks were carried out on Nur Khan airbase at Chaklala in Rawalpindi, the Rafiqui airbase at Shorkot in Punjab, the Murid airbase in Chakwal and the Chunian airbase in Punjab. Pakistan officials had acknowledged damage to transport aircraft at Nur Khan and technical facilities at Chunian.