Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: A special aircraft carrying American peace delegation, led by US Vice-President JD Vance, landed on Saturday at Pakistan’s Nur Khan base in Rawalpindi’s Chaklala for peace talks, the same airbase that was one of the key targets of India’s missile strikes as part of Operation Sindoor last May. The Iranian team, led by Bagher Ghalibaf and Abbas Araghchi, also landed at the same airbase.Boeing C-32A (designated as Air Force Two) carrying V-P Vance, escorted by Pakistan F16 jets, landed at the Nur Khan airbase at 10.29 am local time (0529 GMT). Two other aircraft carrying members of the US delegation and journalists also landed at the Nur Khan base. Vance was accompanied by the US President’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Vance was received by Deputy PM and foreign minister Ishaq Dar and Army chief Asim Munir at the air base.The Nur Khan airbase was chosen by the US delegation primarily for its proximity to Islamabad (25 km from airbase), maximum security, logistical efficiency and its role as the key military transport and VIP aircraft landing hub.The strategic air base, which houses key assets of the Pakistan Air Force, was damaged when India “conducted high-impact air operations”. Though India did not reveal the missiles used in the attack, reports and sources had then confirmed that BrahMos and SCALP air-launched missiles were used. Reports indicated that hangers, runways and radar sites were damaged in the Indian attack. Satellite imagery last Sept showed that Pakistan began work on rebuilding the targeted air base.In early March this year, Afghan Taliban claimed to have conducted a drone strike on the same air base.Nur Khan (formerly Chaklala airbase) is crucial to Pakistan as the headquarters of its air mobility command, handling key logistics, aerial refuelling, and VIP transport. It supports strategic operations, hosts intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR platforms), and offers vital support to the nearby military headquarters and Strategic Plans Division, which protects nuclear assets.
