India Denies Hitting Pakistan’s Kirana Hills, Dismisses Nuclear Strike Rumours
Air Marshal AK Bharti on Monday firmly denied speculation that India targeted Pakistan’s Kirana Hills—alleged to house nuclear weapons—during Operation Sindoor, calling the claims baseless.
Air Marshal AK Bharti on Monday categorically denied that India targeted Pakistan’s Kirana Hills, amid widespread social media buzz and international media speculation suggesting an Indian strike on a possible nuclear storage facility.
“We did not hit Kirana Hills,” Bharti said during a press briefing in New Delhi. “It was not on the list of the targets we told you we hit.”
Responding to persistent questions, he added sarcastically, “Thank you for telling us that Kirana Hills houses some nuclear installation—we did not know about it.”
The comments come amid a surge of online conspiracy theories linking recent tremors in Pakistan to a possible strike on nuclear stockpiles near Sargodha Air Base.
Air Marshal Bharti reiterated that the objective of Operation Sindoor was to neutralize terror infrastructure, not target Pakistani civilians or military.
“Our fight was with terrorists and their support systems,” Bharti emphasized. “Unfortunately, Pakistan’s military chose to support them, forcing us to retaliate accordingly.”
India confirmed it targeted multiple Pakistani Air Force bases after Islamabad attempted to launch coordinated attacks using Turkish drones, Chinese missiles, and fighter jets.
During the briefing, Indian forces presented the debris of a PL-15 air-to-air missile, believed to be of Chinese origin and used by Pakistan in recent hostilities.
Also displayed were remains of Turkish-origin Songar drones that were intercepted and shot down during the attempted strike on Indian territory.
The latest developments follow a ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan, reached after weeks of heightened tensions and military skirmishes.
Kirana Hills, located near the Sargodha Air Base in Pakistan, has long been the subject of speculation regarding nuclear storage. Social media chatter spiked after India’s confirmed strikes on Sargodha, with some falsely claiming US and Egyptian aircraft had entered Pakistani airspace to assess nuclear fallout.
India’s official stance is aimed at countering misinformation that could inflame tensions further. The military insists its operations are guided by precision, targeting only terror-linked infrastructure.
