Vance lands at Nur Khan airbase, chief among Op Sindoor targets

In September again, US President Donald Trump hosted Munir and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the White House for a closed-door meeting in the Oval Office, which lasted over 90 minutes and included Vance. This relationship has caused unease in India, which has viewed the close ties between Washington and Islamabad with concern, particularly following border tensions of last year.

Trump has repeatedly claimed he ‘ended the war” between India and Pakistan, while New Delhi has repeatedly underlined that a discussion on ending military action took place “directly between India and Pakistan through the existing channels of communication between the two armed forces” and had been initiated “at Pakistan’s request”. On the other hand, Pakistan formally nominated Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, citing his “decisive diplomatic intervention” in de-escalating the 2025 India-Pakistan military crisis.

Vance arrived in Islamabad with the American delegation, hours after the Iranian team, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and accompanied by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, also landed there for high-level peace talks.

A key military installation for Pakistan

Visuals showed five PAF F-16s escorting the US Air Force’s Boeing C-32A plane in Pakistani airspace before it landed at Nur Khan airbase.

In fact, the Nur Khan facility in Rawalpindi, just 25 km from Islamabad, handles both military operations and VIP transport, besides being a key logistical hub for Pakistan’s armed forces, housing transport squadrons and aerial refuelling units.

In fact, it surrounds the former Benazir Bhutto International Airport and serves as a central hub for transport and refuelling operations. It is also home to PAF College Chaklala, a key training institution for the Pakistan Air Force.

The base is widely believed to play a role in Pakistan’s nuclear command and control infrastructure, adding to its strategic sensitivity as global attention shifts to Islamabad for the ongoing US–Iran talks.

During Operation Sindoor

Operation Sindoor, launched between May 7 and 10 last year in response to the Pahalgam terror attacks, saw India strike the airbase with missiles and drones on the night of May 9. The strike was later acknowledged by Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. Satellite images revealed significant damage to multiple air bases in Pakistan, including Nur Khan Air Base.

As per reports, the strike had damaged the airbase’s operations room, hangars, fuel trucks, mobile mission control center, and TB-2 drone hangars. An IL-78 air tanker was also damaged. A large crater was created on the runway, resulting in the airbase being shut down for an extended period.

As per a press release issued by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting on May 18, in the wake of Op Sindoor, “The Indian Air Force (IAF) played a crucial role in delivering precision strikes against terror infrastructure across Pakistan. It conducted high-impact air operations on targets such as the Nur Khan Air Base and the Rahimyar Khan Air Base, with visual evidence of damage presented during official briefings.”

During the year-end press briefing in December 2025, Dar confirmed that India had targeted its Nur Khan Air Base in Rawalpindi’s Chakala, damaging their military installation as well as injuring personnel posted there. He said that India had sent multiple drones over Pakistani territory within 36 hours, and one drone damaged the military installation, highlighting the scale and precision of the operation.