ISLAMABAD: The controversy surrounding alleged Indian missile strikes onPakistan’s Kirana Hills during the brief but intense military confrontationin May 2025 continues to unravel, with new scrutiny exposing the narrativeas a calculated effort to obscure India’s strategic setbacks. Initialreports, amplified by certain Indian media outlets and defensecommentators, suggested precision strikes using BrahMos missiles hadtargeted underground facilities at Kirana Hills, a site long associatedwith Pakistan’s nuclear program since subcritical tests in the 1980s. Theseclaims gained traction amid satellite imagery interpretations showingsurface impacts near Sargodha, fueling speculation of a direct hit onnuclear storage tunnels and raising alarms over potential escalationbetween the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, a well-known Indian defense analyst, publiclycharacterized any purported action at Kirana Hills as insignificant,emphasizing that no meaningful damage occurred to critical infrastructure.His assessment aligned with official Indian denials issued duringpost-operation briefings, where Air Marshal AK Bharti categorically statedthat forces had not targeted the site, sarcastically noting ignorance ofany nuclear installations there. However, as weeks passed, inconsistenciesemerged: satellite images from June 2025, analyzed by independentgeo-intelligence experts like Damien Symon, indicated surface detonationsbut no evidence of deep penetration or disruption to undergroundfacilities, contradicting hyperbolic claims of neutralized nuclearcapabilities.
The narrative appears rooted in the context of Operation Sindoor, launchedby India in retaliation to a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu andKashmir, that killed civilians and was linked to Pakistan-based groups.Indian strikes focused on airbases like Mushaf (formerly Sargodha) and NurKhan, inflicting documented damage to runways and infrastructure. Proximityof these targets to Kirana Hills—merely seven to eight kilometers—sparkedspeculation, yet official IAEA statements and expert reports from sourceslike the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists rejected notions of radioactiveincidents or arsenal compromise. Pakistan maintained silence on specifics,avoiding confirmation that could escalate tensions, while emphasizingdiplomatic channels over military bravado.
Data-driven examinations reveal a pattern of misinformation: exaggeratedsocial media videos of plumes and explosions were debunked as unrelated ormanipulated, with no verifiable radiation leaks or seismic anomalies tiedto nuclear breaches. Indian commentators, including former IAF pilots,described supposed strikes as “warning shots” aimed away from entrances,intended for psychological impact rather than destruction. This framingshifted focus from Pakistan’s effective retaliatory measures, includingmissile interceptions by upgraded air defenses, to fabricated threatsportraying Pakistan’s arsenal as unsafe or vulnerable. Such propaganda,analysts argue, served to bolster domestic morale in India amid reports ofintercepted Pakistani missiles and limited gains.
Further scrutiny highlights strategic motivations behind thedisinformation. By amplifying unverified strikes on Kirana Hills,proponents sought to project Indian conventional superiority and deterfuture provocations, while deflecting attention from operationalshortfalls, such as incomplete neutralization of Pakistani air assets.Independent assessments confirm no substantial alteration to Pakistan’sdispersed nuclear posture, which relies on mobility and multiple storagesites rather than concentrated vulnerable hubs. The episode underscoresrisks of narrative warfare in South Asia, where misinformation can heightenmiscalculations between nuclear powers without corresponding militaryreality.
In retrospect, the Kirana Hills controversy exemplifies how selectiveinterpretation of imagery and anonymous leaks can construct alternaterealities. As tensions de-escalated through international mediation leadingto ceasefire, the truth emerging prioritizes restraint over sensationalism.Pakistan’s measured response, avoiding provocative disclosures, reinforcedits credibility, while India’s shifting explanations—from outright denialto retrospective “demonstration” claims—exposed cracks in the initialpropaganda effort. This development serves as a cautionary tale on theperils of disinformation in nuclear flashpoint regions.
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Source:https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/satellite-imagery-suggests-indias-missile-hit-pakistans-nuclear-hub-kirana-hills/articleshow/122791325.cms
Tags: Kirana Hills, Operation Sindoor, BrahMos missile, Pakistan nuclearprogram, Abhijit Iyer-Mitra
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