Pakistan President Zardari reveals he was advised to ‘hide in a bunker’ during Operation Sindoor

Lahore: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has revealed that he was advised to “hide in a bunker” when India launched Operation Sindoor in May this year.

Zardari made the revelation while speaking at an event in Larkana, Sindh province, to mark the 18th death anniversary of his wife and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in a gun and bomb attack in Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007.

“My MS (Military Secretary) came to me and said, 'Sir, the war has started.' I had actually told him four days earlier that a war was going to happen. He said, 'Sir, let's go to a bunker (being a safe place)'... I said, 'If martyrdom is to come, it will come here. Leaders don't die in bunkers. They die on the battlefield. They don't die sitting in bunkers,” he said on Saturday.

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. The strikes triggered four days of intense clashes between the two countries and ended with an understanding to stop the military actions on May 10.

“Pakistan desires peace but remains fully prepared to defend itself,” Zardari said, while making claims about what he called Pakistan’s “decisive stance” during the four-day conflict.

President Zardari also praised Army chief Asim Munir for what he called a “befitting reply to India” in the armed conflict in May.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) top leader claimed that the international community is now acknowledging Pakistan’s stance and even US President Donald Trump had praised Munir.

He also claimed that it was PPP that made Munir the Field Marshal. “We, the PPP, made Gen Munir Field Marshal,” he said.

Zardari's son and PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also spoke on the occasion.