New Delhi: Former Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan has shed light on speculation over whether India deliberately struck Kirana Hills near Pakistan’s Sargodha during Operation Sindoor, saying a loitering munition searching for Pakistani radars may have crashed into one of the hills after failing to locate a target.
Kirana Hills, located around 10 kilometres north of Sargodha, has long been associated with Pakistan’s nuclear infrastructure. He recalled that Pakistan contacted India at around 10 am seeking discussions; around the same time, the Air Chief asked whether the Indian Air Force should strike Sargodha. “Once the Pakistanis had picked up the phone and said they wanted to talk at about 10 AM, the Air Chief asked me whether he should strike Sargodha. He said Pakistani authorities sought commercial satellite imagery until around May 12 in an effort to obtain evidence of damage. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed.
Because pakistani media also showed some kind of images in which there was smoke coming out from Kirana Hills,” he said, so that could be one of the reasons…. Chauhan also revealed that India authorised further strikes against Pakistani military targets even after Islamabad reached out for talks. The operation later widened after Pakistan launched military actions against India, prompting the Indian Air Force to target Pakistani military infrastructure, including airbases and radar facilities.
Speaking at an event organised by the Vivekananda International Foundation, Chauhan said India had deployed loitering munitions around Sargodha to search for Pakistani radar systems. So the loitering mission was looking for radars which are in and around Sargodha,” he said. Explaining how the weapons operate, Chauhan said a loitering munition can remain airborne for around two hours while searching for a target. Chauhan said the deployment of loitering munitions around Sargodha was part of a broader strategy to exploit the lower airspace during Operation Sindoor. He described the approach as a “third option”, different from India’s land-based response after the Uri attack and the large-scale air operation carried out after the Pulwama attack. It would have assured success, and then there would have been an element of surprise,” he said. I said, ‘Go ahead’,” Chauhan said. “I said, could you please identify two more targets, so one of the targets he identified was Skardu. We gave a yes, but after some time, the weather was bad over it and they had to change over to Bholari,” he said. Chauhan said India’s escalation strategy was based on the principle that Pakistan should not be allowed to deliver the final strike. “One of the couple of principles which we thought in the escalation matrix which we laid for ourselves was that we will always deliver the last strike or the winning note and not by the Pakistanis,” he said. “They were actually after 10th also till about 12th they were trying their best to obtain images so that they have some evidence,” he said. Commercial satellite imagery was available from both US and Chinese companies, according to Chauhan. Pakistan also explored other Chinese satellite sources but, he said, could not find evidence that its strikes had hit their intended targets. “But since they are not able to hit any target, they got no evidence,” he said. “If I had to list out a couple of reasons for India’s victory, I would say that we had better situational awareness, better battlefield transparency because we are better networked,” he said. He said the Army, Navy and Air Force had access to a common operational picture, allowing commanders to make decisions based on the same information. So, we were able to make better decisions,” Chauhan said. “The second thing I could attribute to victory was, I think, clear political direction, which gave us a free hand to plan operations,” he said. Chauhan said the Army, Navy and Air Force worked together during the operation without placing their individual shortcomings before the political leadership. This particular operation stands out in some particular manner in which all three services and I, right from day one, did not bring any of these kinds of deficiencies,” he said. Instead, the services worked towards a common operational plan and addressed gaps internally, he said.
Questions about a possible Indian strike on the area emerged after Pakistani media showed images of smoke rising from the hills during the military confrontation. “Before those strikes, we had sent in a lot of loitering missions at Sargodha and Kirana Hills. If it fails to identify one, it eventually comes down. “It must have come and hit one of those hills. His remarks suggest that any impact at Kirana Hills was not the result of a deliberate Indian strike on the hills or Pakistan’s nuclear facilities. “During Operation Sindoor, we decided to use a third option, that is, to exploit the lower airspace. That means it would have kept the threshold of conflict low. The lower airspace can be used by drones, loitering munitions, attack helicopters and other low-level platforms. He then asked the Air Chief to identify two additional targets. The former CDS also claimed that Pakistan was unable to establish whether its strikes during the conflict had hit their intended targets. Chauhan attributed India’s performance during the operation to stronger situational awareness, battlefield transparency and coordination between the three services. “Army, Navy and Air Force, this situation was available to us in one manner for all of us. He also credited clear political direction with giving the armed forces the freedom to plan the operation. “We have seen in the past, sometimes in front of political leadership, people bring out the kind of deficiencies that they have. In the initial phase, Indian armed forces struck nine sites linked to terrorist groups in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The strikes involved precision and stand-off weapons, allowing Indian aircraft to engage targets without penetrating deep into Pakistani airspace.
