Pakistan has again extended the shutdown of the sole functional runway of the Rahim Yar Khan airbase, which was severely damaged in Indian airstrikes conducted on May 10 as part of Operation Sindoor.
The runway will remain closed to all air traffic at least until 4:49 a.m. local time on August 6 (5:29 a.m. IST) as per the latest Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued by the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority.
A NOTAM was initially sent on the strike day, stating the closure for a week. Since then, however, a series of extensions have been put out — each indicating repairs to the airstrip take longer than initially estimated because of the severity of damage inflicted by India's precision strikes. Like earlier alerts, the current NOTAM mentions "work in progress" as the reason for the ongoing shutdown but offers no other information.
Situated in Punjab province in southern Pakistan, close to the border with India's Rajasthan state, the Rahim Yar Khan complex plays two roles. It is a significant forward operational base for the Pakistan Air Force's Central Air Command and it also functions as the Sheikh Zayed International Airport.
Satellite pictures that were released by Indian defense officials following the attack showed a huge crater in the middle of the runway, in addition to extensive structural damage to one of the buildings at the airbase. The pictures serve to validate the extent of destruction and serve to amplify the perception that the site was among a number of strategic Pakistani military sites that were attacked during the brief but intense war.
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) definition, use of the abbreviation 'WIP' in a NOTAM indicates "work in progress" meaning — as defined by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) — specifically construction or repair work on airport surfaces. As the NOTAM being discussed points directly to the runway of the airbase, therefore, the repair activity is obviously aimed at repairing the damaged strip.
Rahim Yar Khan's sole runway, 01/19, is 3,000 meters (about 9,843 feet) long and surfaced with a bituminous surface, based on information from Flightradar24.
The response airbase was among six priority military targets hit by India on May 10, joined by Rafiki, Murid, Chaklala, Sukkur, and Juniya. The coordinated strikes made using air-launched precision weapons from Indian fighter aircraft came in response to what New Delhi labeled as "escalatory" actions by Pakistan, such as several incursions into Indian airspace foiled by ground troops.
The two nuclear-armed neighbors' military clash escalated very quickly after India conducted pre-dawn raids on May 7 on nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The operations, codenamed Operation Sindoor, were undertaken in direct retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack on 26 civilians, most of them tourists, who were killed — an attack blamed on Pakistan-based terror organizations.
The crisis escalated into the worst-ever cross-border confrontation in decades, with Pakistan retaliating with drone and missile strikes across the international border and the Line of Control. India responded by defending its posts and hitting back by targeting Pakistani military establishments, including strategic airbases.
Although both sides had agreed to a ceasefire by the night of May 10, the continued closure of Rahim Yar Khan's runway emphasizes the permanent damage done in those four days of heavy fighting by the military — and indicates that the repercussions are still being felt on the ground.
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