In a striking admission, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar revealed that the sudden halt in fighting between India and Pakistan on May 10 was the direct result of India’s airstrikes on key Pakistani airbases. Speaking candidly in an interview with American news outlet POLITICO, Jaishankar stated that the ceasefire came only after India successfully disabled eight major Pakistani airfields in a precision strike carried out that morning.
The comments offer new clarity on the Indian government’s strategy and resolve following the brutal April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 civilians were killed. As part of Operation Sindoor on May 7, India retaliated by destroying nine terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. This operation marked a decisive moment, with India reportedly eliminating hundreds of terrorists while effectively neutralising multiple Pakistani drone and missile attempts in the following days.
Airstrikes That Changed the Battlefield
According to Jaishankar, it wasn’t diplomacy that halted the conflict but direct military force. He said that on May 10, Indian Air Force jets targeted and disabled Pakistan’s main eight airfields, crippling their aerial response capabilities. “Don’t take my word for it,” he said, “these are images available on Google—you can see the runways and hangars that took the hit.”
A confidential Pakistani dossier later confirmed that the damage extended beyond these eight sites. The document listed additional strikes in areas like Peshawar, Hyderabad, Jhang, Gujranwala, Bahawalnagar, and others. These locations were reportedly not disclosed during India’s official military briefings but were hit in the same wave of strikes between the night of May 9 and early May 10.
Massive Losses to Pakistan’s Air Assets
India’s offensive didn’t just hit runways. According to top Indian government sources, the May 10 strikes targeted 11 key military installations including Sargodha and Bholari, where Pakistan housed F-16s and JF-17 fighter jets. The result: nearly 20 percent of Pakistan’s air force infrastructure was wiped out. The Indian Air Force also destroyed six Pakistan Air Force jets, two high-value aircraft, more than ten UCAVs, a C-130 transport aircraft, and several cruise missiles.
Satellite imagery reportedly shows extensive damage at major bases like Shahbaz in Jacobabad and Bholari, reinforcing Jaishankar’s assertion that it was military might—not negotiations—that brought the ceasefire.
