Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s aide Rana Sanaullah has revealed his country’s military had less than a minute to analyse whether a BrahMos cruise missile fired by India on the Nur Khan airbase during Operation Sindoor could have a nuclear warhead.
Speaking to a local news channel, Rana Sanaullah, adviser to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, also pointed out that the risk of a nuclear war weighed heavily during the India-Pakistan tensions, which broke out after the 26 tourists were killed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam by Pakistani terrorists.
“When India fired the BrahMos and it struck our Nur Khan airbase, the Pakistani leadership had just 30-45 seconds to determine if the missile carried a nuclear warhead,” he said. “Making such a decision in 30 seconds is extremely dangerous,” he said.
He further said, “I am not saying that they did good by not using a nuclear warhead, but at the same time the people on this side could have misunderstood it also, leading to the launch of the first nuclear weapon that could spark a global nuclear war and you cannot imagine the destruction it could have caused,” he added.
Lauding President Trump for his role, he said, “US President Donald Trump played a role in the situation and saved the world from disaster. His role deserves independent recognition and appreciation. The Pakistan government and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has praised him for this,” Khan added.
Earlier, Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir had suggested that Trump should be awarded a Nobel Prize for his role in ending the conflict.
Nur Khan airbase is located just 10 km from Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad and is considered a critical military site.