New Delhi:
Powerful explosions were reported early Saturday across multiple Pakistani air bases, including a critical installation near the capital Islamabad, prompting the Pakistani government to shut down the country’s airspace to all civilian and commercial traffic.
The Pakistani military has claimed that the blasts occurred at three air force installations, including the Nur Khan Air Base in Rawalpindi, a key site less than 10 kilometres from Islamabad and adjacent to the country’s military headquarters.
Multiple videos circulating on Pakistani media and social media purportedly show the Nur Khan Air Base on fire following a huge explosion. NDTV could not independently verify these videos. Eyewitnesses described loud, successive blasts followed by a flurry of military activity on the ground.
The Nur Khan facility, formerly known as Chaklala Air Base, is one of Pakistan’s most sensitive military compounds, housing both air force operations and VIP transport units.
Pakistan today shut down its airspace for all air traffic, hours after India accused it of sing commercial flights as shields amid drone attacks. The decision, notified through a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), came amid heightened tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
