Mianwali airbase attack: Pakistan suffered more losses than it officially acknowledged, say reports

As Pakistan's onslaught on Afghan refugees living in the country since as early as the late 1970s continues, Islamabad's security establishment was taken aback by a startling demonstration of Tehreek-e-Jihad's capability to wreck havoc.

But now, questions are being raised if Pakistani authorities are playing down the loss of lives and damage caused by the terror group's strike a training facility of the Pakistan Air Force in Punjab province's Mianwali on Saturday (Nov 4).

Shortly after the attack at the MM Alam airbase, Pakistan's military public relations wingclaimed that no substantial harm was done.

But this does not appear to be the case any longer, say the reports appearing in a section of media.

Ayesha Sidiqa, Senior Fellow at the Department of War Studies at King’s College, London said sources told herthat the Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI are hiding information, and that "actual loss is 14 aircraft and 35 military men".

"These figures indicate the capacity of militants. There have been calls for beefing up capacity to secure these bases, including equipping guards with night vision devices, thermal imaging sights and better equipment," Sidiqa wrote in an article in The Print website.

Separately, an India Today report, based on an analysis of satellite images of the attacked Pakistani military site, said that there was more damage at the airbase than officially acknowledged.

"The imagery shows at least nine clear signs of damage to the operational sheds at the base on the day of the attack. Given the substantial size of these structures, it would require a significantly powerful explosion beneath them to cause such visible roof damage, thereby posing an increased risk to the aircraft stored inside," the report claimed.

How was this attack different?

The attack was the first demonstration of militants' ability to attack a premier military site, years after Pakistani military had claimed that it had defeated terrorism.

Also watch |Major security lapse at the Pakistan's Mianwali airbase

The jihadist attackers managed to strike a hard target in Punjab, considered the 'safest territory'.

The attack's responsibility was claimed by Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP) group, a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) offshoot that propped up in February 2023.

Pastattacks on Pakistan's military sites

The TTP and its various components have attacked both soft and hard targets in Pakistan, including the Army General Headquarters (GHQ) in 2009, the Mehran naval airbase in 2011, the Minhas air base in 2012, and the Badaber non-flying airbase in 2015.

(With inputs from the agencies)