Multiple claims circulating on social media allege that Indian forces struck a nuclear arms storage facility in Pakistan’s Sargodha during ‘Operation Sindoor’. While the Mushaf airbase in Sargodha was confirmed as one of India’s missile targets, Air Marshal A.K. Bharti, speaking at a press briefing on Monday, denied reports of any strike on the nearby nuclear facility at Kirana Hills. “We have not hit Kirana Hills; I did not mention it in my briefing yesterday,” said Air Marshal Bharti.
What Is Kirana Hills Pakistan’s Nuclear Facility At Kirana Hills
Why In News
- Multiple claims circulating on social media allege that Indian forces struck a nuclear arms storage facility in Pakistan’s Sargodha during ‘Operation Sindoor’. While the Mushaf airbase in Sargodha was confirmed as one of India’s missile targets, Air Marshal A.K. Bharti, speaking at a press briefing on Monday, denied reports of any strike on the nearby nuclear facility at Kirana Hills. “We have not hit Kirana Hills; I did not mention it in my briefing yesterday,” said Air Marshal Bharti.
What Are Kirana Hills?
- The two sites are barely seven kilometres apart. Social media videos show dense plumes of smoke rising from the base of the rugged Kirana Hills. The absence of high-resolution satellite imagery makes it challenging to confirm whether nuclear assets, if any, at Kirana Hills were struck.
- A viral video on social media features a man claiming that the Indian military launched missile strikes on Kirana Hills.
What are Kirana Hills?
- Social media has been abuzz with chatter around how India may have hit Kirana Hills in Pakistan, which is close to the Sargodha Air Base and possibly “stores nuclear weapons”.
- Located in Pakistan’s Sargodha district, Kirana Hills is a vast rocky mountain range and a designated area under Pakistan’s Ministry of Defence. Often referred to as the “Black Mountains” due to its brownish terrain, it stretches between the township of Rabwah and the city of Sargodha, forming part of the Mushaf Air Force Base.
- Incidentally, Mushaf is one of the airbases that India had struck earlier — it is the Command Headquarters of Pakistan air force and is home to various squadrons of F-16, JF-16.
- According to some reports, Kirana Hills houses over 10 underground tunnels, with widespread speculation suggesting these tunnels are used for the storage of Pakistan’s nuclear warheads. Moreover, it is very closely situated to key military installations, including the Sargodha Air Base, located only 20 km away, and the Khushab nuclear complex (around 75 km away), highlighting its sensitive.
- In 2023, a report by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, an independent non-profit, stated that the Kirana Hills is a subcritical nuclear test site used by Pakistan to develop its nuclear programme from 1983 to 1990.
- The report added that the site likely includes munitions storage areas, TEL (Transporter Erector Launcher) garages, and at least 10 underground storage facilities. Historical data reveals that the Pakistani ministry of defence acquired the hills as a defence site in 1970 and established a radar station, which is still in use today.
- Moreover, the hills came into prominence when US satellites detected preparations for nuclear tests by Pakistan between 1983 and 1990. It also stated that it continued to retain its importance as M-11 missiles, supplied by China, are believed to have been stored there.
- A report in The Print published in 2017 further revealed that the location housed at least 10 tunnels constructed by Special Works Development (SWD), a military unit created to handle field engineering work of nuclear sites.
Why Are We Talking About Kirana Hills
- Interest in the Pakistani location surged days after India struck airbases in the neighbouring country. Many on X speculated that India had hit Kirana Hills, stating that it houses Pakistan’s many nuclear warheads.
- This interest got amplified on Monday when a journalist posed the same question to the IAF official at the press briefing. The journalist in his question said that there had been social media chatter claiming that India had struck the Mushaf Airbase in Sargodha, reportedly linked to underground nuclear storage beneath the Kirana Hills, using loitering and penetrating munitions. However, Air Marshal AK Bharti rejected these claims saying, “Thank you for telling us that Kirana Hills houses some nuclear installation. We did not know about it. And we have not hit Kirana Hills, whatever is there.”
