Parde mein rehne do: Pakistan's cover-up operation after Sindoor strikes

Parde mein rehne do, parda na uthao (Let it remain behind the veil)

The iconic Bollywood line has found new life – not in cinema, but the way Pakistan is trying to hide the damage to its air bases caused during Operation Sindoor.

Fresh high-resolution satellite images analysed by India Today show a peculiar pattern: tarpaulins. Pakistan is now using them to cover at least three military sites hit during India’s Operation Sindoor – Murid, Jacobabad, and Bholari. In some cases, the sheets match the original rooftops, like a well-planned disguise.

At Bholari Air Base in Sindh, high-resolution imagery from June 4, sourced from Maxar Technologies, shows a hangar’s roof – visibly damaged earlier – now neatly covered with a material that blends in. The makeover isn’t for aesthetics. It’s a cover-up, literally. These covers were first identified by Damien Symon, a geo-intelligence researcher at the Intel Lab.

Murid base in Punjab tells a similar story. On June 2, a green tarpaulin hides what appears to be a command and control centre struck on May 10. The structure was clearly hit – now it’s hidden, hinting at repairs or activity beneath.

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But the most telling is a 3-metre-wide crater near a high-value underground site at Murid base. It's now tented over, as if hoping a canvas will erase the evidence of a missile strike.

Jacobabad’s PAF Base Shehbaz, home to Pakistan’s F-16s, also shows signs of a clean-up. A June 4 image reveals partial roof covers and missing debris that was visible in earlier May 11 shots.

Despite visual proof of extensive hits across nearly a dozen sites, Pakistan has chosen to deny, deflect, and distract. Its strategy: amplify unverifiable claims of downing Indian jets while ignoring the visible scars at home. As if draping tarpaulins and tents can outsmart satellite eyes.

Meanwhile, amid this silence, fanfare continues – including the unprecedented promotion of its army chief to Field Marshal.

As the song goes, "Parda jo uth gaya to bhed khul jayega (Secrets will come out if the veil is lifted)." The world has already seen beneath the veil thanks to the commercial satellite pictures. Only Islamabad pretends it hasn’t.