On Saturday, after military action against India, the Prime Minister called an emergency meeting of the National Command Authority, the country’s top nuclear weapons oversight body, according to national media reports. The Prime Minister is also expected to address the nation today.
According to a statement from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office, he has called a meeting of the National Command Authority, which is the key policymaking body on the country’s nuclear weapons and includes both civilian and military leadership.
Experts and diplomatic circles have long warned that any serious conflict between India and Pakistan could lead to the use of nuclear weapons, as this is one of the world’s most sensitive and densely populated nuclear regions.
According to the British newspaper The Telegraph, India has dispatched its warships—including aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates, and anti-submarine vessels, towards Pakistan. Some of these ships are equipped with Russian-made BrahMos missiles, and the fleet is positioned 300 to 400 nautical miles from the Pakistani coast.
Pakistan Army spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in a late-night broadcast that India attempted to target the Noor Khan, Murid, and Shorkot airbases using its aircraft. However, only a few missiles managed to evade the defense system, and no aerial assets were affected.
In a retaliatory operation, the Pakistan Army destroyed India’s Pathankot Airbase, Udhampur Air Force Station in occupied Kashmir, and a BrahMos missile stockpile in the Beas area.
