Pakistani media reported on Friday that Pakistan's Shaheen-3 missile has allegedly struck a nuclear facility in Dera Ghazi Khan city of the country's Punjab province.
n a statement released later in the day, DG Khan Commissioner’s spokesperson Mazhar Sheerani confirmed that a loud explosion was heard in the city.
“Concerned departments have presented an initial report after investigation,” he said.
“There is a strong possibility that the sound barrier of a warship broke, but final confirmation is pending,” he stated, adding that no loss of life or any other damage was reported.
According to unverified videos shared on social media, the surface-to-surface ballistic missile first misfired on a nuclear facility, leading to a large explosion that could be heard from as far as 20 kilometers away.
The Pakistan Army has reportedly halted internet services in the vicinity, restricted media access, and advised residents to remain indoors.
While Pakistan's Interior Ministry was yet to make an official comment on the incident, Twitter, now rebranded as X, was buzzing with two different theories regarding this development.
1.
Some Pakistani netizens suggested that the Shaheen missile accidentally struck a nuclear facility after failing a test.2.
On the other hand, others claimed that an enemy drone strike carried out an attack on the Pakistan nuclear plant in DG Khan.Neither of these theories have been confirmed by officials yet.
However, this isn't the first time a Pakistan missile test has gone awry.
Last year, an unidentified Pakistani missile fell in the Jamshoro city of the South Asian nation's Sindh province.
Though government officials refuted claims made regarding that incident, independent military watchers in the country claimed that Pakistan did test fire a missile after India's Brahmos rocket accidentally landed in the neighboring nation.
"Jamshoro, Pakistan tested a missile in response to the previous Indian Brahmos missile. Pakistani missile failed to reach its target & fell down nearby," local news agency Conflict News Pakistan said on Twitter.
A similar incident took place in 2020 also.
At that time, Pakistan's Babur II missile, which can be fired from both land and sea, crashed into the ground during a test flight in Balochistan.
It's worth noting that Pakistan is among a select band of countries that possess nuclear arms, besides using nuclear power to generate electricity, much like its larger neighbor India.