Renowned aviation historian and analyst Tom Cooper claimed that India’s attack on Pakistan’s Kirana Hills nuclear facility forced Islamabad to approach New Delhi for a ceasefire after Operation Sindoor in May last year. However, after the military operation, the Indian Air Force (IAF) denied any reports of targeting Kirana Hills.
In an interview with NDTV, Cooper said that he had several pieces of evidence that India struck Pakistan’s nuclear facility. As per the analyst, India gave a strong strategic message to Pakistan with this strike.
He also told the media house that the IAF first hit radar stations to nullify Pakistan’s capability to launch a counterattack. Cooper said that the IAF hit at least two entrances of Pakistan’s underground nuclear facilities.
It’s a place you hit when you want to send a clear message without causing, let’s put it this way, too much damage. It means, ‘Listen, guys in Pakistan, we can hit you severely where we want, whenever we want, with as much ammunition as we want. Stop it, finally’,” Cooper told NDTV.
He added that diplomatic activities followed, reinforcing his argumenmt. Cooper told the media house that after the alleged strike, Pakistan reached out to the United States and India and pushed for the ceasefire.
“While it was not literally a case of begging for a ceasefire, he maintained that the developments that followed spoke for themselves and that the situation “cannot be clearer anymore,” Cooper told NDTV.
Talking about the evidence regarding the alleged Indian strike on Kirana Hills, the renowned historian said that there were several proofs, including videos shot by locals allegedly showing missiles hitting the hillside and smoke billowing out from there after the strike. He claimed that smoke billowed out after a missile reportedly hit the radar station of the 4091st Squadron of the Pakistani Air Force.
Kapoor answered in the classic IAF fashion: ‘we don’t know about it… these videos were presented by their people… they made them… we did nothing’,” he had added.
India launched Operation Sindoor to avenge the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. On the intervening night of May 6 and 7, the Indian Armed Forces launched the operation and targeted nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Pakistan tried to attack Indian civilian and military installations. However, India’s air defence thwarted the attack. On the intervening night of May 9 and 10, India hit 11 Pakistani air bases.
Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) on May 10 contacted his Indian counterpart and requested a ceasefire.
