In the span of just three days, Pakistan has experienced not one, not two, but three earthquakes. The most recent, a 4.6 magnitude tremor, struck near Pir Jongal in Punjab on May 13. While scientists have rushed to dismiss any links of tremors to nuclear activity, the timing and the tectonic theatre of Operation Sindoor raise questions that refuse to lie still.
Natural Causes or Strategic Echoes?
Seismologists from India’s National Center for Seismology (NCS), including Director Dr. O P Mishra, have firmly ruled out any unnatural activity. According to Dr. Mishra, the earthquake was a result of movement along the Main Central Thrust—a known geological faultline prone to seismic events.
“Natural earthquakes have two phases,” he explained. “A nuclear explosion has a distinct tertiary signature due to surface reverberation. We detected none.” Veteran seismologist A K Shukla concurred, asserting that nuclear blasts leave unmistakable patterns, absent in this case.
Yet, this string of tremors follows closely after India’s Operation Sindoor—a tri-service precision strike that reportedly hit Pakistan’s deep-strategic infrastructure. Notably, senior defense analyst Col. R.S.N. Singh observed during a discussion with Sanjay Dixit, said that these “earthquakes” coincided suspiciously with Indian missile impacts, suggesting that the seismic readings may, in fact, be post-strike reverberations.
Operation Sindoor: Tremors by BrahMos?
Col. Singh recounted how, following India’s precision strike on Pakistan’s terror infrastructure, news of tremors in the very same regions began to surface. “When I first heard of the earthquakes,” he said, “I assumed nature had turned on them. But soon it became clear—these weren’t just tremors, they were aftershocks of BrahMos.”
According to his analysis, a 4.1 magnitude event occurred shortly after India’s deep-penetration strike on suspected nuclear facilities near Jacobabad. Hours later, a stronger tremor—5.7 magnitude—was recorded. “The force and pattern resemble tactical missile strikes, not faultline activity,” he noted. Singh added that the timing of the tremors directly followed impacts in areas housing Pakistan’s nuclear storage.
Public Speculation vs. Scientific Detachment
Social media in both India and Pakistan erupted with speculation. Was this the sign of a covert nuclear mishap? A test gone wrong? Or a reaction to India’s strikes?
But experts insist otherwise. They argue that while such suspicions are understandable amid India-Pakistan war, science has its limits—and its standards. Without radioactive residue or seismic tertiary signatures, they say, the default explanation remains natural.
Still, a curious question persists: why are these tremors happening now, and in such rapid succession?
Between Tremors and Truth
It is important to recognize the duality in this situation. The scientific consensus leans toward geological causes—but the geopolitical context, especially in light of Operation Sindoor and India’s strike on Pakistan’s military and terror assets, makes outright dismissal seem premature.
Col. Singh wasn’t alone in his concern. Others in strategic circles suggest the use of advanced Indian strike capabilities—BrahMos, SAAW, and smart anti-airfield munitions—could trigger tremor-like effects. Especially when targeted at deeply buried facilities.
In the end, the earth may have shaken for natural reasons. Or it may have shuddered under the weight of justice.
Let the seismographs speak, but let us not be deaf to context. As history often reminds us, not all tremors come from tectonic plates. Some come from the cracks in the armor of terror.