'Rahim Yar Khan airbase is in ICU': PM Modi in Bikaner rally, says India 'created such a chakravyuh'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday highlighted the damages inflicted by the Indian Armed Forces on the Rahim Yar Khan airbase in Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. Prime Minister Modi said that Pakistan's Rahim Yar Khan airbase is in ICU. 

While addressing a rally in Bikaner's Deshnoke, Prime Minister Modi said: "Pakistan's Rahim Yar Khan airbase is in ICU, not sure when it will reopen." In the second phase of Operation Sindoor, the Indian Armed Forces targeted key Pakistani military installations after the Pakistan Army's drone and missile attacks on Indian civilian and military sites.

Further highlighting his government's stance on national security, PM Modi said: “Our army was given a free hand. All three forces together created such a Chakravyuh (military formation) that Pakistan was forced to kneel down.”

Last week, the Indian Armed Forces released a close-up video showing the extent of damage inflicted on the critical Pakistani airbase in precision strikes carried out under Operation Sindoor. 

As per the video, the enormous crater seems to cover a substantial portion of the airbase's runway, prohibiting any aircraft operations right away and severely impairing the capability of the Pakistani air force. 

While releasing the visuals at a press briefing, Air Marshal AK Bharti said: "You can see the pinpoint accuracy of our weapons." He said that military bases at Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur and Chunian were targeted. 

As part of India's precision strikes, radar sites in Pasrur and an aviation base in Sialkot were also struck. 

The Rahim Yar Khan air base is a Pakistan Air Force military installation situated near southern Punjab's Rahim Yar Khan city. PAF used the base for rapid deployment and operations across southern and eastern Pakistan. It is also the PAF's key forward operating base facing Rajasthan. 

'Operation Sindoor' saw India launch precision attacks on terror facilities early on May 7 in retaliation for the 26-person Pahalgam horror attack on April 22.

Pakistan attempted to assault Indian military bases on May 8, 9, and 10 in response to the Indian action.  Numerous military locations in Pakistan became the target of a ferocious counterattack by Indian soldiers.

Four days of heavy cross-border drone and missile strikes later, on May 10, India and Pakistan agreed to terminate the fighting.