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After India’s Op Sindoor, conspiracy theories of a radiation leak and nuclear mishap at Pakistan’s secretive ‘Area 51’—Kirana Hills—refuse to die, fueled by mysterious flights, viral documents, and a string of shallow earthquakes.
In the wake of India’s decisive counter-terror strikes under Operation Sindoor, a telling silence now hangs over Pakistan. While New Delhi stands firm and transparent in its stance, Islamabad continues to retreat behind vague denials and controlled narratives. Yet, one troubling question continues to reverberate across social media, intelligence briefings, and global strategic circles: Was there a radiation leak in Pakistan?
While both countries have denied any damage to nuclear infrastructure, a fog of speculation, half-truths, and eerie coincidences has kept the theory of a possible radiological incident very much alive. From suspicious aircraft activity to a viral “confidential” government document, the digital wildfire surrounding a potential radiation leak shows no signs of being extinguished.
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The Spark: India’s Precision Strikes and the Kirana Hills Enigma
The speculation began when the Indian Air Force (IAF) launched retaliatory strikes in response to Pakistan’s failed missile and drone incursions across the border. The strikes, part of the audacious Operation Sindoor, targeted 8 Pakistani airbases and reportedly destroyed 20% of the Pakistan Air Force’s operational infrastructure.
8 Pakistani Air Bases Destroyed in Operation Sindoor
- PAF Base Nur Khan, Rawalpindi
- PAF Base Murid, Chakwal
- PAF Base Sukkur, Sukkur
- PAF Base Rahim Yar Khan, Rahim Yar Khan
- PAF Base Mushaf, Sargodha
- PAF Base Shahbaz, Jacobabad
- PAF Base Rafiqui, Shorkot
- PAF Base Bholari, Jamshoro
Radar Sites and Air Defence Units struck
- Pasrur, Sialkot district, Punjab
- Sialkot, Punjab
- Chunian, Kasur district, Punjab
- Lahore, Punjab
- Malir Cantt, Karachi, Sindh
But one name, rarely uttered outside classified dossiers, suddenly captured the global imagination — Kirana Hills.
Located near Sargodha in Pakistan’s Punjab province, Kirana Hills has long been suspected by Western intelligence as a critical node in Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program. Since the 1980s, the site has been rumoured to house underground tunnels, nuclear warheads, and missile storage — giving rise to its nickname: “Pakistan’s Area 51.”
Soon after the strikes, social media erupted with claims that India may have accidentally or deliberately struck this strategic site, potentially triggering a radiation leak. The Indian Air Force responded quickly but cryptically.
“Thank you for telling us that Kirana Hills houses some nuclear installation, we did not know about it. We have not hit Kirana Hills, whatever is there,” said Air Marshal A.K. Bharti during a press briefing.
This statement, however, did little to extinguish the growing firestorm of conspiracy theories.
The Aircraft That Raised Eyebrows
The strongest fuel for the radiation leak theory came from the skies.
On May 11, flight-tracking platforms like Flightradar24 briefly showed a rare aircraft — the Beechcraft B350 AMS — in Pakistani airspace. The plane, tail number N111SZ, was configured under the Aerial Measuring System (AMS) — a high-level US nuclear emergency response program operated by the US Department of Energy.
This aircraft is no ordinary surveillance tool. It's fitted with high-precision gamma ray sensors, isotope detectors, and real-time data transmission capabilities. Designed to assess nuclear fallout, support first responders, and verify post-strike nuclear safety, the B350 AMS is usually deployed after radiological events or nuclear accidents — such as the Fukushima disaster in Japan.
Why was such a plane, almost never seen outside US operations, flying over Pakistan? No official explanation was provided. Theories quickly emerged:
- Theory 1: Pakistan feared a radiation leak and deployed the aircraft (now locally operated) for emergency assessment.
- Theory 2: The aircraft was flown in coordination with the US to evaluate nuclear damage post-strike.
Some open source intelligence analysts pointed out that the N111SZ tail number once belonged to a B350 transferred to Pakistan’s Army Aviation in 2010. However, conspiracy theorists note that such aircraft are not used routinely and certainly not in conventional conflict situations unless nuclear fears are in play.
Earthquakes or Explosions? The Seismic Mystery Deepens
Further adding to the mystery is a spate of recent earthquakes in Pakistan — particularly their timing and location.
On May 12, a 4.6 magnitude earthquake struck Pakistan at 1:26 PM IST, occurring at a shallow depth of just 10 kilometers. This tremor followed two others in close succession just days earlier — one measuring 5.7 and another 4.0 on the Richter scale. Though Pakistan lies along the seismically active boundary between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, the frequency, magnitude, and shallow depth of these tremors have raised significant concern.
Could these quakes be natural — or are they masking something more sinister?
Experts caution that shallow earthquakes are often more destructive due to stronger ground shaking near the surface. While earthquakes in Pakistan are not unusual, the clustering of these events, their shallow depth, and their proximity to known nuclear sites, including Kirana Hills and Noor Khan Airbase, have prompted online speculation that the tremors might not be natural.
Some observers have raised the possibility of:
- Underground nuclear testing or malfunction, leading to localized tremors.
- Structural damage or explosion within a nuclear facility, potentially causing radiation leaks and seismic shockwaves.
There is no official confirmation linking the earthquakes to nuclear activity. But in the current climate of secrecy and fear, even natural events are being viewed through the prism of worst-case scenarios.
The Viral Document: Real Bulletin or Elaborate Fake?
On May 13, another piece of the puzzle surfaced — an alleged internal bulletin from Pakistan’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination began circulating on social media. The alleged document, titled “Radiological Safety Bulletin”, warned of a radiation leak at a non-destructive testing (NDT) industrial site near Chattar Plain in northern Pakistan.
It allegedly cited a sealed Indium-192 source as the cause and claimed exposure levels had reached 14.2 mSv/hour before dropping to 0.05 mSv/hour. One technician was said to be under observation, and emergency teams from the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) were reportedly deployed. The document also claimed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was formally notified.
However, the bulletin was riddled with inconsistencies:
- A timestamp of “24:55 hours” — a non-existent time.
- A mention of a “Northern Regional Safety Division” — an agency that does not exist in any public Pakistani records.
- Typographical and formatting issues.
- Labelled “Confidential – Immediate Release” — a contradictory classification.
Fact-checking platforms, including Grok on X (formerly Twitter), quickly dismissed the document as a likely fabrication. Still, its virality reflected how fertile the ground had become for conspiracy narratives.
Egypt, Boron, and the Curious Case of Murree
Another eyebrow-raising development came with the reported landing of an Egyptian Air Force transport aircraft at a military airstrip in Murree, northern Pakistan. According to unconfirmed open source intelligence analysts, the plane allegedly carried a shipment of boron — a chemical commonly used to dampen radioactive emissions.
While neither Egypt nor Pakistan commented on the flight, the theory quickly gained traction online, especially when former CIA analyst and RAND Corporation defence expert Derek Grossman added fuel to the fire.
In a now-restricted post, Grossman claimed the Indian Air Force strike had damaged a nuclear-linked facility at the Noor Khan airbase in Rawalpindi, which houses elements of Pakistan’s nuclear command. He suggested the resulting damage may have triggered a leak.
Adding to the mystery, CNN and The New York Times reported that US Vice President JD Vance had called Indian PM Narendra Modi following “alarming intelligence” from Pakistan — possibly relating to a nuclear incident.
Denials and Ceasefire Diplomacy
During a crucial hotline call on the afternoon of May 10, the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan agreed to halt all military action. Notably, it was Pakistan—reeling from the impact of India’s precision strikes under Operation Sindoor—that initiated the ceasefire proposal, as confirmed a day later by India’s DGMO, Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai.
This sudden Pakistani climbdown has fueled speculation, with some analysts and conspiracy theorists suggesting Islamabad rushed to stop hostilities after realizing the scale of potential damage—possibly even to sensitive sites. While no official link has been established between the ceasefire and the radiation leak rumours, the timing has only deepened suspicions about what Pakistan might be hiding.
Despite growing chatter, there has been no credible confirmation of a radiological incident from the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) or the IAEA. Pakistan’s continued silence, paired with India’s consistent denial of targeting any nuclear facility, only raises further questions about Islamabad’s transparency.
Despite the lack of hard evidence, several social media platforms are teeming with theories. Alleged eyewitness accounts have claimed vomiting, nausea, and headaches among locals near suspected strike zones. But no verified medical or environmental alerts have been issued.
Fog of War, Shadows of Fallout
So, was there a radiation leak in Pakistan? Right now, the answer is we don’t know — and we may never know with certainty.
But what this incident reveals is the dangerous gap between truth and perception in nuclear-armed standoffs. The lack of transparency, combined with cryptic denials, ambiguous aircraft movements, and viral misinformation, has created a perfect storm of suspicion.
Until credible, independent assessments — or satellite imagery, environmental readings, or whistleblower disclosures — come to light, the story of the Kirana Hills leak will remain suspended between conspiracy and reality.
But in the information age, silence isn’t just suspicious — it’s deafening.
