Did India hit Kirana Hills during Op Sindoor? Ex-CDS Anil Chauhan clears air - The Times of India

**India’s Military Clarifies Kirana Hills Incident Amid Operation Sindoor Claims**

New Delhi’s former chief of defence staff, General (Retd.) Anil Chauhan, has publicly refuted allegations that the Indian armed forces deliberately struck Pakistan’s Kirana Hills nuclear complex during the recent Operation Sindoor. The controversy erupted after a series of media reports – including those by *The Times of India*, *NDTV* and *Hindustan Times* – suggested that a low‑fuel Indian loitering munition inadvertently hit the Pakistani facility while conducting a cross‑border strike. Chauhan told reporters that the drone, operating on a limited fuel reserve, lost control and unintentionally entered Pakistani airspace, resulting in a “technical mishap” rather than a pre‑planned attack on the nuclear site.

According to Chauhan, the mission’s original objective was to target a separate location linked to hostile militant activity, not the Kirana Hills installation. He emphasized that the loitering munition’s guidance system failed to execute the intended return trajectory, causing the stray impact. The former CDS added that no strategic directive to strike Kirana Hills was ever issued by the Indian military hierarchy, and that the incident has been logged as an operational anomaly. The Indian Ministry of Defence has not released a formal investigative report, but officials have indicated that a thorough review is underway to prevent similar occurrences.

The episode has resurfaced broader debates about the interplay of political objectives and military action in the subcontinent. In a recent interview with ANI News, Chauhan recalled approving a retaliatory strike on Pakistan’s Sargodha airbase after Islamabad signaled a willingness to engage in talks during Operation Sindoor, underscoring his view that “politics and war are inseparable.” His comments reflect a strategic calculus wherein military pressure is leveraged alongside diplomatic overtures, a stance that continues to shape Indo‑Pakistani security dynamics. Observers note that while the Kirana Hills incident appears to be an accidental deviation, it may nevertheless influence future rules of engagement and risk‑assessment protocols for cross‑border operations.