Director General Air Operations, Air Marshal A K Bharti on Monday denied reports of India targeting Kirana Hills, Pakistan’s alleged storage facility housing the country’s nuclear warheads.

Addressing a media briefing here, he said they are not aware about the reference points relatable to Kirana Hills.

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“Thank you for telling us that Kirana Hills houses some nuclear installations. We did not know about it. And we have not hit Kirana Hills, whatever is there,” said Bharti.

The speculation comes amidst the multiple social media handles posting videos and pictures of blasts at the Kirana Hills, located in Sargoda district of Pakistan’s Punjab province, during Operation Sindoor.

As per the reports, the infamous Kirana Hills is believed to be one of the sites of Pakistan’s Ministry of Defence, housing its nuclear warheads.

In the strikes launched at the nine terror hubs located in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) under Operation Sindoor on May 7, the Indian defence forces targeted terror camps of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) located in both Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir. It included Markaz Subhan Allah, Bahawalpur – JeM, Markaz Taiba, Muridke – LeT, Sarjal, Tehra Kalan – JeM, Mehmoona Joya, Sialkot – HM, Markaz Ahle Hadith, Barnala – LeT, Markaz Abbas, Kotli – JeM, Maskar Raheel Shahid, Kotli – HM, Shawai Nalla Camp, Muzaffarabad – LeT, and Syedna Bilal Camp, Muzaffarabad – JeM.

The Resistance Force (TRF), an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba had taken the responsibility of the Pahalgam massacre.

“Investigations into the Pahalgam terror attack have brought out the communication nodes of terrorists in and to Pakistan. The claims made by The Resistance Front and their reposting by known social media handles of the Lashkar-e-Taiba speak for themselves. Identification of the attackers, based on eyewitness accounts, as well as other information available to law enforcement agencies, has also progressed. Our intelligence has developed an accurate picture of the planners and backers of this team,” India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misry had stated.

Later, during the subsequent strikes, the Indian Air Force (IAF) targeted 11 military sites including critical air bases in Rafiqui, Murid, Nur Khan, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, Chunian, Pasrur, and Sialkot.

A satellite image of the Kirana Hills area shows a bed of construction amid the brown and green of the hills. Located 20km from the critical Sargodha air base and 75km from the Kushab nuclear plant, the site is a highly fortified military zone and is also known as ‘Black Mountains’, owing to the dark brownish soil.

In a report published in February 2025, the World Nuclear Association stated that at Khushab, 200 km south of Islamabad, there are four heavy water reactors dedicated to production of weapons-grade plutonium.