India’s military retaliation against Pakistan after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack triggered alarm at the highest levels of the Pakistani leadership, with President Asif Ali Zardari revealing that he was advised to take shelter in a bunker during the escalation in May.
Speaking at a public event on Saturday, Zardari said his Military Secretary warned him that war had begun as Indian forces carried out precision strikes under Operation Sindoor, launched in response to the killing of 26 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam. “My Military Secretary came to me and said, ‘Sir, the war has started. Let’s go to the bunkers,’” Zardari said, adding that he declined the advice.
