Islamabad, Dec 28: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said he was advised to take shelter in a bunker during India’s military action in May following the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, acknowledging the level of alarm within Pakistan’s leadership during the escalation.

Speaking at a public event on Saturday, Zardari said his military secretary warned him that hostilities had begun as Indian forces carried out precision strikes under Operation Sindoor. “My military secretary came to me and said, ‘Sir, the war has started. Let’s go to the bunkers," Zardari said, adding that he chose not to follow the advice.

India launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7 in response to the killing of 26 civilians in Pahalgam. The operation targeted Pakistani military installations after earlier strikes hit nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. New Delhi described the strikes as precise, limited and aimed at dismantling terror infrastructure and deterring further attacks.

The action led to a sharp escalation along the Line of Control, with Pakistan intensifying cross-border shelling and India responding in kind, raising fears of a broader military confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

Zardari said he had anticipated an escalation days earlier but declined to move to a bunker despite being urged to do so. His remarks marked a rare public admission of the seriousness of the situation within Pakistan’s top leadership during the crisis.

The hostilities later eased after Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations contacted his Indian counterpart to propose a ceasefire. India accepted the proposal.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri subsequently confirmed that both sides agreed to halt all military operations on land, at sea and in the air.

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India has blamed cross-border terrorism for the Pahalgam attack, saying its military response was intended to send a strong deterrent signal. The May escalation was among the most serious India-Pakistan confrontations in recent years before the ceasefire took effect.