New Delhi: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inspected the Adampur airbase in Punjab amid ongoing military tensions with Pakistan, his counterpart Shehbaz Sharif visited Pasrur Cantonment in Sialkot on Wednesday to meet Pakistani troops involved in the recent confrontations.
Located around 130 kilometres from Lahore in Pakistan’s Punjab province, Pasrur Cantonment and the nearby Sialkot aviation base were among the targets hit by India during its recent military offensive, Operation Sindoor. The Indian Air Force had used precision-guided weapons to strike radar facilities and other infrastructure, reportedly causing extensive damage.
According to a statement from the Pakistani Prime Minister’s Office, Sharif met with officers and soldiers who had participated in operations during the confrontation with India. He also addressed military personnel during his visit. In the coming days, he is expected to tour additional Pakistan Air Force and Navy installations to interact with other armed forces personnel.
Sharif meets frontline troops
Sharif was accompanied by several top officials, including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Army Chief General Asim Munir, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu, and other key ministers and senior civil and military leaders.
The visit follows India’s launch of Operation Sindoor during the night of May 6-7, in which the Indian armed forces targeted nine terror camps located in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The airstrikes were carried out in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 civilians, mostly tourists, dead. Indian officials reported that over 100 terrorists were eliminated during the operation.
India-Pak tensions
In the days that followed, tensions escalated further. On May 8, 9 and 10, Pakistan attempted retaliatory strikes on multiple Indian military bases, prompting blackouts and air raid alerts in cities such as Amritsar and Jammu. These exchanges fueled fears of a larger conflict between the two nuclear-armed nations.
India responded forcefully by striking several Pakistani military installations, including bases in Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, and Chunian. On May 10, US President Donald Trump claimed to have brokered a ceasefire between the two nations. However, India dismissed the claim, asserting that all diplomatic matters with Pakistan would be handled bilaterally and not through external mediation.
In his national address on May 12, Prime Minister Modi reiterated India’s firm stance on terrorism. He warned Pakistan against using nuclear threats and declared that India would not engage in trade or dialogue with Islamabad until terrorism is addressed and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is returned.
