What really happened at Kirana Hills? As the US dodges questions about a potential nuclear leak, the quiet evacuation of nearby villages raises serious alarm
Social media has recently been abuzz with speculations about a possible nuclear leak in Pakistan’s nuclear facility, said to be located in Kirana Hills in the Sargodha district of Pakistan. Some videos purportedly showing empty houses in the villages around the Kirana Hills are going viral on the internet. People on social media are claiming that the Pakistan Army is evacuating the villages surrounding the Kirana Hills after a nuclear facility in the area was hit during military escalations between India and Pakistan.
In one of the videos, a man is showing missile explosions, claiming that two missiles hit the Kirana Hills amid the India-Pakistan military hostilities.
In another video, a man, without mentioning the name of the village, is showing empty village houses, claiming that all the people living in the houses in the vicinity of Kirana Hills have been driven out by the Pakistan Army.
There were also reports about a US Beechcraft B350 Aerial Measuring System (AMS) aircraft, part of a US Department of Energy fleet designed for detecting radioactive contamination in emergency scenarios, being spotted in Pakistan’s airspace, which further added to the speculations. There has been no word from Pakistan on the presence of these aircraft in its airspace. But, some flight tracking websites like Flightradar24 indicated some activity from an aircraft identified as N111SZ, a B350 AMS variant in Pakistan’s airspace. Some open-source intelligence (OSINT) analysts reportedly claimed that the aircraft was handed over to the Pakistan Army Aviation in 2010. Even if that is taken to be true, the aircraft’s original design being nuclear-focused still points to the possibility of a nuclear leak. Some unverified reports also claimed that an Egyptian aircraft carrying Boron, a substance used to suppress radioactive emissions, was seen arriving in and departing from Murree in Pakistan, sparking speculations about a nuclear leak.
Both India and Pakistan have rejected the claims about the latter’s nuclear establishment being hit during India’s missile attacks. India’s Director General of Air Operations, Air Marshal A.K. Bharti, said during a press briefing that India did not hit the Kirana Hills. “Thank you for telling us that Pakistan has stored its nuclear weapons at Kirana Hills, whatever is there. We have not hit Kirana Hills, whatever is there,” said Air Marshal Bharti, responding to a question. Pakistan’s DG ISPR, Sharif Ahmed Chaudhary, also dismissed the claims of Pakistan’s nuclear establishment being targeted by India. However, the speculations have raised the alarm about a potential nuclear fallout in the region.
US dodges questions about a nuclear leak in Kirana Hills
The speculations about a possible nuclear leak in the Kirana Hills were reinforced after the US Department of State Principal Deputy spokesperson, Tommy Pigott, evaded a question relating to the nuclear leak during a press briefing. When asked whether a US team was reviewing leaks of nuclear radiation in Pakistan, Pigott replied, “I have nothing to preview on that at this time.”
Operation Sindoor and India’s precision strikes at Pakistan’s airbases
After the ghastly April 22 Pagalgam terror attack in which Pakistan-backed Islamic terrorists brutally gunned down 26 Hindu tourists after verifying their religion, India, in retaliation, conducted precision attacks on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK, which was codenamed ‘Operation Sindoor’. However, after Pakistan, rattled by India’s military action against terrorists, launched drone attacks on India’s western front, the latter responded by carrying out precision strikes at several locations inside Pakistan, including 11 Pakistan Air Force (PAF) bases located at Nur Khan, Rafiqui, Murid, Sukkur, Sialkot, Pasrur, Chunian, Skardu, Bholari, Jacobabad, and Sargodha, which is perilously close to the Kirana Hills where Pakistan’s nuclear strategic command is suspected to be located. India’s drone and missile attacks inflicted massive damage on Pakistan’s defence infrastructure.
Kirana Hills and Pakistan’s nuclear facility
Kirana Hills or the Black Mountains is an 80 km long hill range located in the Sargodha district of Pakistan. It is about 170 km away from the Indian border. The site has been the centre of several research projects during the British rule. Pakistan’s defence ministry took control of Kirana Hills around 1970. It is now a part of the Mushaf airbase, which houses Pakistan’s aircraft, including F-16 and JF-17. It is suspected that the site houses Pakistan’s nuclear facility. Pakistan is also said to have excavated the Kirana Hills in search of Uranium.
Reports suggest that Pakistan began using Kirana Hills for its nuclear mission around 1978-79. The site was reportedly also used for experiments before carrying out a nuclear explosion. A 2023 report by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists claims that the Kirana Hills is a subcritical nuclear test site used by Pakistan for developing its nuclear programme between 1983 and 1990. The site reportedly houses munitions storage areas, TEL (Transporter Erector Launcher) garages, and at least 10 underground storage facilities.
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