In a startling admission that exposes Pakistan’s agenda, a top aide to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has revealed that his country’s military had merely 30-45 seconds to determine whether an incoming BrahMos missile carried a nuclear warhead during a critical moment in this May’s Operation Sindoor.
During an interview, Rana Sanaullah, Prime Minister Sharif’s special advisor, described the scenario. He was detailing how the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile’s strike on Pakistan’s strategically vital Nur Khan Airbase left decision-makers scrambling to avert Armageddon. “When India fired BrahMos and it hit Nur Khan airbase, Pakistan’s military had 30 or 45 seconds to determine if it carried a nuclear warhead,” Sanaullah stated, emphasising that any misjudgment could have ignited global nuclear conflict.
Pakistan begged Trump for a ceasefire after Indian Brahmos (Harmus) hit Noor Khan Airbase and Pak forces had no time to react.
— Pakistan Untold (@pakistan_untold) July 3, 2025
– Admission of Pakistan's defeat by Sp Assistant to Pak PM Rana Sanullahpic.twitter.com/vRnDxEwqCv
Operation Sindoor: The trigger
The missile crisis erupted against the backdrop of soaring tensions following the 22nd April Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, where Pakistan-linked terrorists killed 26 tourists. India responded on 7th May with Operation Sindoor, a multi-pronged military campaign targeting terrorist infrastructure. Initial strikes destroyed camps of Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Hizbul Mujahideen, killing over 100 terrorists.
When Pakistan retaliated with drone and missile attacks on India, it was all intercepted by Indian defences. India escalated dramatically. On the night of May 9-10, BrahMos missiles screamed toward eleven Pakistani airbases, including Sargodha, Jacobabad, Rafiqui, and the crown jewel of Pak military, Nur Khan in Chaklala, Rawalpindi.
The Nur Khan Strike: A 45 second nightmare for Pakistan
Nur Khan Airbase is no ordinary facility. Housing the Pakistan Air Force’s VIP fleet, advanced Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones, and serving as a key command node. Its location just outside Pakistan’s military headquarters in Rawalpindi makes it a strategic nerve centre of Pakistan’s military. The base had been targeted before by India during the 1971 war, but never with such terrifying speed.
- The Missile’s Lethal Edge: The air-launched BrahMos, an Indo-Russian co-developed supersonic cruise missile. It travels at Mach 2.8-3.0 (~3450 km/h), leaving target areas with virtually no warning time. Its low-altitude “terrain-hugging” flight path makes detection extraordinarily difficult.
- The Decision Window: Sanaullah’s account underscores that Pakistan’s air defence systems identified the missile with only half a minute to analyse its payload and trajectory. “This BrahMos missile coming silently if it had been nuclear… to make the decision in just 30 seconds… shows how dangerous it was,” he stressed.
- Near-Apocalypse: Though the missile was conventionally armed, Sanaullah admitted the blinding uncertainty nearly provoked catastrophe: “Had there been a misunderstanding… action taken from that side… the entire world could have been plunged into nuclear war”.
Satellite evidence and damage
Satellite imagery later confirmed the BrahMos’ devastating precision. At Nur Khan, images showed shattered hangars, cratered runways and damaged radar installations. Similar destruction was documented at Sargoda, Sukkur, Bholari, and Rahim Yar Khan airbases – crippling Pakistan’s air defense readiness.
Pakistan initially denied the extent of damage, but Deputy PM Ishaq Dar later conceded: “India attacked two important airbases.” The blow was so severe that Army Chief Gen. Asim Munir woke PM Sharif at 2:30 AM to report the Nur Khan strike.
Ceasefire: Competing narratives of de-escalation
- Pakistan’s False Version: Sanaullah credited former U.S. President Donald Trump with brokering peace, even nominating him for a Nobel Prize. Saudi Prince Faisal allegedly relayed Pakistan’s ceasefire request to Indian EAM Jaishankar.
- India’s Rebuttal: New Delhi flatly denies third-party involvement, insisting Pakistan’s DGMO initiated de-escalation talks after absorbing the airbase strikes.
The unspoken doctrine: India’s nuclear posture and aftermath
After four days of fire exchanges, the ceasefire took hold on 10th May, but the BrahMos episode exposed Pakistan’s defence vulnerabilities. Sanaullah’s alarm omits a critical factor. It is India’s No First Use (NFU) nuclear policy. Pakistan’s military planners would likely have assumed that BrahMos wasn’t nuclear-tipped, as India reserves such payloads for ballistic missiles under its NFU framework. This suggests the “30-second panic” narrative may exaggerate the nuclear risk for political effect and gain international attention for the victim card.
