Chaklala, Murid and Rafiqui: The 3 airbases India targeted in retaliation at Pak military heart

Under Operation Sindoor in response to Pakistan’s attacks, India on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday struck three airbases in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

India struck the Nur Khan airbase at Rawalpindi’s Chaklala and Murid in Chakwal district and Shorkot in Jhang district.

The Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi is located next door to the Pakistan Army headquarters and carries great symbolic values. Visuals shared by Pakistani witnesses on X show the airbase engulfed in a ball of a fire.

نور خان ایئربیس، یا اللہ رحم۔۔!! pic.twitter.com/c0OPytLyDg

— Khurram Iqbal (@khurram143) May 9, 2025

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At the time of writing of the story, Indian and Pakistani operations were ongoing. Pakistan is attacking the entire northern and western India and India is responding forcefully. Even as Pakistan is targeting civilian areas and religious sites, India is limiting strikes on military and terrorist facilities.

With strikes on the Nur Khan base, India has signalled to Pakistan that nothing is off the table — not even the crème de la crème facility next door to the Army headquarters, which is the real seat of power. For context, the US equivalent of it would be a strike on a facility next door to White House.

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1. Nur Khan airbase, Rawalpindi

The Nur Khan airbase is located at Rawalpindi’s Chaklala area.

Five to six squadrons of the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) are stationed at the airport and they include some of the premier transporters of the air force. The base also houses VIP transport planes used by the political and military leaders of the country.

A top source in the Indian government have said that “Pakistan should understand that we are committed for proportionate response they should stop now otherwise next time it will be more serious and severe”.

This is in line with with our reporting yesterday that the ball of de-escalation lies in Pakistan's court and India has decided to maintain escalation dominance and keep the heat on.

2. Murid, Chakwal

The Pakistani Murid airbase is located in Chakwal district of Punjab province.

The Murid airbase is a hub of drone operations that have hit India for at least past two days.

The Murid airbase houses multiple Pakistani Air Force squadrons specialising in drones. It is understood that these squadrons were engaged in carrying out and facilitating drone attacks on India. These attacks are ongoing.

As the Murid airbase has been at the core of attacks on India with several hundreds of drones, the Indian strike at the base is a direct response to Pakistan’s aggression.

ALSO READ: Operation Sindoor: India to maintain escalation dominance, de-escalation rests on Pakistan

At a press briefing on Friday, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi said that Pakistan attacked India on Thursday night with 300-400 drones that targeted the entire northern and western India from Leh to Gujarat. The attack that began on Friday night, and is still ongoing at the time of writing of the story, is understood to have involved an equal if not more number of drones. However, most of the drones in the current barrage are understood to be armed.

3. Rafiqui airbase at Shorkot

The third Indian base to be struck was the Rafiqui airbase at Shorkot in Jhang district of Punjab.

The airbase houses multiple squadrons of China-made JF-17 and Mirage fighter planes and some utility helicopters.

In attacks on India this week, Pakistan is understood to have used JF-17 warplanes and other China-made weapons as its mainstay assets.