What are Kirana Hills, and why is the location in discussion after Operation Sindoor | WION Explains

After Operation Sindoor on May 7, under which India hit nine terror sites in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan, a buzz spread on social media that the Indian Army struck Kirana Hills, a reservation of Pakistan's Ministry of Defence.

But on Monday (May 12), Director General of India's Air Operations, Air Marshal AK Bharti, rejected the claims in a briefing on Operation Sindoor that India hit the hills.

When a question was asked in the briefing if India hit Kirana Hills along with air bases of Pakistan, Bharti said, "Thank you for telling us that Kirana Hills houses some nuclear installations. We did not know about it."

"We have not hit Kirana Hills, whatever is there. I did not brief in my briefing yesterday," the Air Marshal added.

The social media buzz

After Operation Sindoor, some handles on the social media platform X shared images and videos of the hills, claiming an explosion was heard and smoke was seen in the Sargoda district of Pakistan's Punjab province.

What are Kirana Hills?

Pakistan's Kirana Hills are known to be a reservation of Pakistan's Ministry of Defence. It is believed that the caves within the hills are used by the Pakistani military to store its nuclear warheads.

Satellite imagery indicated a strike on the runway of Mushaf airbase in Sargodha. As per Google Maps, the distance between the airbase and Kirana Hills is 19.9 km.

Why are the hills significant for Pakistan?

"At Khushab, 200 km south of Islamabad, there are four heavy water reactors dedicated to the production of weapons-grade plutonium," according to a report in World Nuclear Association that was updated in February 2025.

Kirana Hills is a highly fortified military zone known for its underground nuclear infrastructure, Colonel Vinayak Bhat (Retd) wrote for The Print in November 2017.