Major General G.D. Bakshi (Retd) said that Pakistan secretly parked an Iranian IL-76 transport aircraft at Nur Khan airbase near Rawalpindi [1].
The accusation suggests a breach of trust between Pakistan and the U.S., implying that Islamabad maintained clandestine ties with Tehran while presenting itself as a Western ally.
Bakshi, an Indian defence analyst, said that Pakistan played a "double game" during the Iran-related conflict [1]. He said the country deceived both the United States and its own allies by providing covert support to Iran while maintaining a public facade of cooperation with Washington [1].
According to Bakshi, this level of deception meant that "Americans Were Collectively Cheated" [1]. The analyst said the situation was a strategic betrayal, noting that the presence of the Iranian transport aircraft at a Pakistani military installation contradicts Pakistan's official diplomatic posture [1].
The remarks were made during an interview conducted in Gurugram, Haryana, which was published on March 25, 2026 [1]. The Nur Khan airbase is a key military facility located near Rawalpindi, and Bakshi said it served as a sanctuary for Iranian assets [1].
Bakshi said the role of Pakistan as an "epicentre of terror" extends to these geopolitical maneuvers, where the state balances contradictory alliances to maintain its own strategic interests [1]. He said such actions undermine the security frameworks the U.S. relies upon in West Asia [1].
“Americans Were Collectively Cheated”
These allegations highlight the precarious nature of Pakistan's strategic balancing act between the U.S. and Iran. If verified, the secret housing of Iranian military assets at a domestic airbase would signal a significant intelligence failure for Western agencies and suggest that Pakistan's alignment in West Asia is far more fluid than its public diplomatic commitments suggest.
