Pak PM calls meet of nuclear command body after India hits airbases: Report

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called a meeting of the National Command Authority on Saturday, the country’s military said, amid a dramatic escalation in cross-border hostilities with India. The move, reported by news agency Reuters, comes just hours after Islamabad launched a coordinated military operation targeting multiple Indian bases.

The National Command Authority is Pakistan’s highest decision-making body on national security matters, including those related to its nuclear arsenal.

The latest flashpoint was triggered by Pakistan firing a long-range missile aimed at a strategic Indian location, which was intercepted and destroyed by Indian Air Defence Systems in the Western Sector, according to government sources.

In response, India retaliated overnight, targeting 26 Pakistani sites with missile and drone strikes stretching from Jammu and Kashmir to Gujarat.

Four key Pakistani airbases—including Noor Khan in Rawalpindi, Murid in Chakwal, and Rafiqui in Shorkot—were hit, inflicting heavy damage on military assets. The Ministry of Defence said critical Indian infrastructure such as airports and airbases remained unharmed thanks to rapid interception by India’s air defence systems, including S-400s and Akashteer units.

Indian forces also destroyed several Pakistani posts and terror launch pads near the Jammu region that were allegedly being used to launch drones into Indian territory. Shelling resumed at dawn in Naushera, with loud explosions and heavy artillery fire reported.

Intense engagement continues over Srinagar and its adjoining areas. India has activated its surface-to-air missile systems in the region amid fears of further aerial threats.

Civil aviation across the region has been severely impacted. Pakistan closed its airspace until noon Saturday, while India’s Airports Authority has issued NOTAMs suspending operations at 32 airports until May 14. The last PIA flight in Pakistani airspace was reportedly forced to circle Quetta mid-air before being grounded.

Casualties have mounted on both sides. In Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri, Additional District Development Commissioner Raj Kumar Thappa was killed when Pakistani shelling hit his residence. J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called it “devastating news” and offered his condolences.

The crisis stems from India’s precision strikes earlier this week on terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which were in retaliation for an April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam that left 26 people, mostly tourists, dead.

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