Last Updated:
Gen Chauhan said Indian forces had sent loitering missions towards Sargodha before the strikes to search for Pakistani radars. Kirana Hills is around 10 km north of Sargodha.
Former Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan
Former Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan has said India may have struck Pakistan’s Kirana Hills during Operation Sindoor, offering his first acknowledgement of a possible hit on the area near Sargodha.
Chauhan said Indian forces had sent loitering missions towards Sargodha before the strikes to search for Pakistani radars. Kirana Hills is around 10 kilometres north of Sargodha.
Four Waves Of Air Attacks
Chauhan said May 10 marked the third phase of operations for India, during which the Indian Air Force carried out four waves of air attacks.
“On 10th, it was the third phase of operations for us. We carried out four waves of air attacks,” Chauhan said.
He said the attacks began at around 2:30 am, followed by further waves at 4:30 am and 10:30 am, with the final wave taking place at almost 12:45 pm.
Chauhan also said Pakistan had told a couple of countries on May 10 that it would “teach India a lesson” within the next 48 hours.
“On 10th, they declared to couple of countries that they will teach India a lesson in next 48 hours and going to start at about 1 o’clock PST and that’s about 1:30 PST. But unfortunately, they folded up within about eight and eight and a half hours,” he said.
What Happened At Kirana Hills?
According to Chauhan, the loitering missions were designed to search for radars in and around Sargodha. Such munitions can remain airborne for around two hours while looking for a target.
If they do not find one during that period, they eventually come down and strike somewhere.
“It must have come and hit one of those hills,” Chauhan said, referring to the possibility that one of the missions struck Kirana Hills.
He said this could explain images shown by Pakistani media in which smoke was seen coming from the Kirana Hills area.
The comments have added to speculation over whether India’s strikes during Operation Sindoor reached the area around Pakistan’s strategic military facilities.
Sargodha Strike Approved Despite Pakistan’s Call
Chauhan also revealed that he approved a proposed Indian Air Force strike on Sargodha even after Pakistan reached out seeking talks during Operation Sindoor.
Speaking at an event organised by the Vivekananda International Foundation, Chauhan said the Pakistani outreach came at around 10 am.
“The Air Chief asked me whether he should strike Sargodha. I said, ‘Go ahead’,” Chauhan said. He then asked the Air Chief to identify two more targets.
One of them was Skardu, which received approval. However, bad weather later forced a change, and Bholari was selected instead.
Chauhan said India had decided that Pakistan would 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 the last strike or the winning note will always be delivered by us and not by the Pakistanis,” he said.
Why India Used Lower Airspace
Chauhan also explained India’s decision to use lower airspace during the operation. He said the approach was intended to keep the threshold of conflict low while maintaining an element of surprise.
“During Operation Sindoor, we decided to use a third option, that is, to exploit the lower airspace,” Chauhan said.
According to him, the strategy would have kept the conflict threshold low, assured success and maintained an element of surprise.
Pakistan’s Dependence On Chinese Equipment
Chauhan also spoke about China’s role in Pakistan’s military during Operation Sindoor. He said around 70–80 per cent of Pakistan’s military platforms are of Chinese origin, covering land-based and air platforms as well as some naval platforms.
He said Chinese original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, personnel would have been present in Pakistan because they are responsible for maintaining and servicing equipment supplied by them.
Chauhan said China had acknowledged that its personnel were present, but described their presence as a contractual obligation rather than direct military involvement.
He also pointed out that India has foreign platforms and therefore has Russian, French and Israeli OEM representatives in the country as part of similar maintenance arrangements.
Pakistan Sought Chinese Satellite Images
Chauhan said Pakistan also tried to obtain commercial satellite images to assess the results of its strikes.
He said commercial satellite services are available from several US companies as well as Chinese companies, and that such imagery can be purchased by anyone.
According to Chauhan, Pakistan was trying to obtain images until May 12 to establish evidence of its targets. When it could not get the evidence it wanted, it tried other Chinese satellites.
He said this did not mean the satellite services were exclusively available to Pakistan, as commercial Chinese satellite imagery could be purchased by anyone.
Chauhan said Pakistan attempted to hit targets but was not able to do so successfully, while its efforts to obtain satellite imagery reflected its attempt to determine the results of its strikes.
About the Author
Shuddhanta Patra is an Indian journalist with about nine years of experience in covering national politics, geopolitics, defence, diplomacy and international affairs. Her reporting focuses on South As…Read More
August 25, 2026, 10:17 PM IST
Read More
Source link
[ad_3]
