ISLAMABAD — A senior aide to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has acknowledged the terrifyingly narrow window Pakistani forces had to assess a potential nuclear threat during India’s recent cross-border missile strikes, as reported by NDTV.
Rana Sanaullah, a top political adviser, revealed in a televised interview that Pakistan’s military had only 30 to 45 seconds to determine whether an Indian BrahMos missile fired at the Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi carried a nuclear payload. “It was a dangerously short time to analyze whether the missile had a nuclear warhead,” Sanaullah said. “Had it been misunderstood, the response could have triggered a nuclear war.”
The remarks came in the wake of India’s covert military campaign, dubbed Operation Sindoor, launched in retaliation after Pakistan-linked militants killed 26 tourists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
During the operation, Indian forces targeted multiple Pakistani airbases — including Nur Khan, Sargodha, Jacobabad, Sukkur, and Rahim Yar Khan — inflicting heavy damage to infrastructure, including runways and hangars. Satellite imagery later confirmed the extent of the destruction.
Indian forces also struck and eliminated over 100 militants affiliated with terror groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, and Hizbul Mujahideen, according to official briefings.
In response, Pakistan launched a wave of drone and missile attacks toward western India, which were intercepted by Indian defense systems. India then launched precision strikes on deep military targets within Pakistan, escalating fears of a broader conflict.
A ceasefire was brokered after four days of high-stakes escalation. While tensions have eased, Sanaullah’s candid admission highlights how close the subcontinent came to a catastrophic miscalculation — and how perilously thin the line is between conventional warfare and nuclear confrontation.
