As Operation Sindoor sent shockwaves deep into Pakistan’s military core, credible sources have confirmed that Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, General Syed Asim Munir, was moved into a fortified underground bunker within Rawalpindi’s General Headquarters (GHQ) and remained hidden for nearly three to four hours. The move followed a decisive and precisely coordinated strike by the Indian Air Force (IAF) on the highly strategic Nur Khan Airbase—located a mere 10 km from Pakistan’s federal capital, Islamabad.
The May 10 air raid, executed as part of India’s broader retaliation for the brutal Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 innocents including Hindus. India’s multi-vector precision assault targeted 11 Pakistani airbases in under three hours. But it was the surgical strike on Nur Khan Airbase, home to key strategic aviation assets and lying in close proximity to Pakistan’s nuclear command infrastructure, that reportedly threw Islamabad’s military elite into a frenzy.
As per sources close to Indian intelligence agencies and independent satellite monitoring outfits, General Asim Munir was urgently escorted into a nuclear-hardened subterranean bunker within GHQ Rawalpindi within minutes of the Indian BrahMos and SCALP missile launches being detected.
Satellite footage later confirmed extensive structural damage to Nur Khan’s runways, fuel convoys, and a hangar housing a C-130 Hercules aircraft. Debris scattered across the tarmac bore witness to the strike’s accuracy. Significantly, Nur Khan also houses IL-78 refuellers, Saab Erieye AWACS, and is located just miles from the headquarters of Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division (SPD)—custodian of the country’s nuclear arsenal.
According to defence sources, Munir stayed underground for over three hours, reviewing damage assessments and contingency planning. His operational base is now being “temporarily relocated” due to what analysts are calling a “decapitation strike risk”—India’s proven ability to target leadership and command nodes, even in Islamabad’s high-security zones.
“The fact that the Pakistan Army Chief had to hide for several hours says more than any press statement ever could. India has demonstrated not only conventional military superiority but also achieved a deep psychological breakthrough,” said Lt Gen (Retd) Rakesh Sharma, a former Corps Commander in the Indian Army.
More controversially, alleging that General Munir’s family left Pakistan on diplomatic passports soon after the strike. Although not confirmed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), such a move—if true—would suggest that even the highest echelons of Pakistan’s military felt threatened by the potential of further Indian escalation.
Further muddying the waters was a video clip circulated by Pakistani channels, showing Munir addressing soldiers with Quranic verses, not tactical directives. The footage portrayed him more as a cleric than a commander, raising eyebrows even within Pakistan’s own defence commentators.
Former Indian Army Northern Commander, Lt Gen Devendra Pratap Pandey, was blunt in his analysis: “The moment Nur Khan was hit, it wasn’t just a runway or an aircraft that was damaged—it was Pakistan’s military nerve centre that suffered a psychological collapse. Munir’s reaction proves that.”
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