No radiation leak from any Pakistani nuclear facility: International Atomic Energy Agency

DEHRADUN: There was no radiation leak or release from any nuclear facility in Pakistan, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Wednesday (IST), rejecting widespread reports that claimed Indian missiles struck Kirana Hills in Pakistan's Sargodha district during Operation Sindoor, triggering a radioactive incident. The clarification followed social media speculation and foreign media theories suggesting a nuclear stockpile in Pakistan had been hit during the airstrikes. Fredrik Dahl from IAEA's press department in an email response to TOI's query stated, "We are aware of the reports. Based on information available to the IAEA, there was no radiation leak or release from any nuclear facility in Pakistan." The development came two days after Indian Air Force's director general air operations, Air Marshal A K Bharti, denied that India had targeted Kirana Hills or any nuclear installation in Pakistan. When asked by the media, Bharti said, "Thank you for telling us that Kirana Hills houses nuclear installations. We didn't know about it. We have not hit Kirana Hills and whatever is there." The ministry of external affairs also rejected reports of a radiation leak. Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, during a press briefing on Tuesday, said, "Our military action was entirely within the conventional domain. Some reports were suggesting that Pakistan's National Command Authority would convene a meeting, but those were later denied. In fact, Pakistan's govt representatives have officially denied this on record."IAEA's statement sought to dispel speculation that a radiation leak led to the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. Some foreign experts on global media platforms had amplified the theories, claiming the reports were accurate. The rumours intensified after some flight tracking platforms allegedly spotted a US department of energy aircraft—used in nuclear emergencies like Fukushima—near Pakistan. Another claim that an Egyptian military aircraft landed in Pakistan carrying boron, a chemical used to contain radioactive emissions, also circulated. Both these claims were unverified and dismissed by former military officials as baseless. Lt Gen Mohan Bhandari (retd), who served as deputy director general military operations during the Kargil war, told TOI, "Hitting any nuclear installation is a very irresponsible thing to do, which the highly professional Indian forces will never do.All these stories are bogus conspiracy theories that can't be believed."He added, "Above all, both countries in 1988 signed the India-Pakistan Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack Against Nuclear Installations and Facilities, or simply called the non-attack agreement. Under this, both maintain an understanding of not attacking each other's nuclear installations as it would then lead to a devastating armed escalation. Having said that, our forces are fully ready to respond to any misadventure by Pakistan."