Disaster Averted: Pakistans Nuclear-Capable Shaheen-III Missile Reportedly Crashes Near Nuclear Facility

India.com

23-07-2025

Pakistan's latest test of its nuclear-capable Shaheen-III ballistic missile on Tuesday, July 22, went allegedly awry, with the missile falling short of its target and its wreckage landing perilously near a nuclear site in Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab province. The accident, in which wreckage fell close to civilian habitations in Dera Bugti district, Balochistan, has raised high level questions over Pakistan's military competence and sparked safety concerns among locals.
After the failed test, the Pakistani military is said to have imposed a drastic internet blackout in the hit areas, barred media access, and commanded citizens to stay indoors.
The Failed Test: What Went Wrong?
On 22nd July, Pakistan carried out a test firing of the Shaheen-III missile from the Rakhshani region of Dera Ghazi Khan. But the missile is said to have gone off track, crashing in the Matt region of Dera Bugti district, Balochistan. The impact point was startlingly close to human habitations, only 500 meters away. Missile wreckage fell in the Grapevine Ravine at the Loop Seharani Levy Station, causing a massive explosion.
Pakistani Punjabi Army carried out a failed test of Shaheen-III ballistic missile in Republic of Balochistan on Tuesday, 22 July 2025. Locals reported that the missile was fired from Balochistan's territory of Dera Ghazi Khan which landed dangerously close to civilian settlement pic.twitter.com/VF4o15pa77 — Baba Banaras™ (@RealBababanaras) July 23, 2025
The explosion was so intense that its noise was said to have been heard 20-50 kilometers away, resonating in sections of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Social media was filled with panic videos of people running in fear. While some alleged that the missile struck the Dera Ghazi Khan nuclear plant, others believed it could be a strike by an enemy drone.
The Pakistani military's initial reaction was to cut off internet services, limit media, and instruct residents to remain indoors. Mazhar Shirani, a representative of the DG Khan Commissioner, tried to put the incident down, implying that it was possibly a sonic boom created by a fighter jet, subject to investigation.
Shaheen-III: Pakistan's Nuclear Deterrent
The Shaheen-III is Pakistan's most powerful missile. It is a surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of 2,750 kilometers, theoretically able to reach key Indian cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. Pakistan sees it as an essential component of its defense strategy, especially as a countermeasure against India's military might. Yet, a series of successive test failures is increasingly raising questions over its operational readiness.
Dera Ghazi Khan: A Critical Nuclear Hub
Dera Ghazi Khan is also the site of Pakistan's largest nuclear complex, a critical facility for uranium storage and processing. In the early 1970s, the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) built a pilot plant here with the capability to process 10,000 pounds of uranium per day. This is the most important part of the nuclear weapons program of Pakistan. If the missile did actually hit this complex, the results could have been disastrous, although authorities insist that no damage was done.
A History Of Failures
This is not a one-off. Pakistan has a disturbing history of failed missile tests:
October 2023 (Dera Ghazi Khan) : A earlier Shaheen-III test was also reportedly unsuccessful, resulting in an explosion close to Dera Ghazi Khan, heard 30-50 km away. Reports of a nuclear facility being hit were waved off as a sonic boom by the government.
: A earlier Shaheen-III test was also reportedly unsuccessful, resulting in an explosion close to Dera Ghazi Khan, heard 30-50 km away. Reports of a nuclear facility being hit were waved off as a sonic boom by the government. January 2021 (Dera Bugti): A Shaheen-III test went awry, with the missile hitting a residential area of Dera Bugti, demolishing houses and injuring residents. The Baloch Republican Party denounced it as proof of Balochistan serving as a Pakistani military testing ground.
A Shaheen-III test went awry, with the missile hitting a residential area of Dera Bugti, demolishing houses and injuring residents. The Baloch Republican Party denounced it as proof of Balochistan serving as a Pakistani military testing ground. 2020 (Babur-II Missile) : A Babur-II missile, which can be launched from land and sea, crashed in Balochistan during a test.
: A Babur-II missile, which can be launched from land and sea, crashed in Balochistan during a test. 2022 (Jamshoro): A mysterious missile fell in Jamshoro, Sindh province, with some assuming that it was a failed attempt to retaliate against India's BrahMos accident.
These successive failures highlight ongoing technical issues with Pakistan's missile technology.
Balochistan's Mounting Protest
Groups such as the "Republic of Balochistan" and locals have vigorously protested against the recent test. They claim that:
Balochistan as a Testing Ground: The Pakistani military regularly carries out missile and nuclear tests in Balochistan, putting its people at risk. They cite the 1998 nuclear tests at Chagai, where they say even now there is rampant cancer and skin diseases.
Forced Eviction: Baloch people are regularly forced to vacate their homes prior to tests, as is habitual in places such as Dera Bugti and Kahan, purportedly to enable resource extraction (gas, minerals).
Lack of Safety: Civilians are not notified in advance about missile tests, and their lives are put in grave danger.
Sher Mohammad Bugti, spokesman for the Baloch Republican Party, said Pakistan has used Balochistan as its "weapons laboratory," calling on the United Nations and human rights groups to probe.
Pakistan's Nuclear Ambitions
Pakistan is one of the nine nuclear-armed nations, with a total of 170 warheads in 2025 and possibly up to 200 by 2026. Pakistan's doctrine of "minimum credible deterrence" suggests an implicit first-use strategy towards neighboring countries like India. The Shaheen series with ranges between 1,250 to 2,750 km, with the Shaheen-III developed to neutralize India's Agni-III, are pivotal to this doctrine. Pakistan's missile and nuclear programs are popularly assumed to be designed with extensive Chinese support. The 1970-established Dera Ghazi Khan plant produces as much as an estimated 360 grams of plutonium per year, which is weapons-grade. It is an essential element of its nuclear program.
International Ramifications and Unanswered Questions
India has kept official mum over the incident, but the incident follows increased India-Pakistan tensions in the wake of India's "Operation Sindoor" in May 2025, a retaliatory action against Pakistani airbases over the Pahalgam terror attack. The Dera Ghazi Khan incident has generated internal debate in India, with some interpreting it as an indication of Pakistan military vulnerabilities.
Concerns from the United States are also notable. A U.S. nuclear sniffer aircraft was reportedly observed near Dera Ghazi Khan after the October 2023 blast, fueling speculation of a nuclear mishap. While the U.S. remains officially quiet, it closely monitors Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. Baloch organizations have appealed to the UN and UN Security Council to impose sanctions on Pakistan's missile and nuclear programs.
Pakistani authorities have rejected any terror strike, and the DG Khan Commissioner has said the blast was probably a sonic boom and reported no damage or casualties. But so many questions to be answered: If a sonic boom, then how did missile wreckage reach Dera Bugti? Why did the army impose an internet and media embargo? Was the nuclear plant really not damaged? The Pakistan Interior Ministry remains silent so far.
For India, successive failures of Pakistani missile tests may mean diminished military credibility. Yet, an accident involving a nuclear facility such as Dera Ghazi Khan would be a critical threat that would transcend boundaries. In addition, increasing Baloch anger against Pakistan, possibly catalyzed by such an incident, may destabilize a border region near the India-Pakistan frontier, affecting bilateral relations.