Air raid sirens, evacuation advised as Centre orders drills on May 7: Sources

Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan over last month’s Pahalgam terror attack,

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked several states to conduct drills for effective civil defence on May 7 (Wednesday), government sources said.

During the drills, air raid warning sirens will be activated, and civilians and students will be trained in civil defence to protect themselves in the event of a hostile attack, according to government sources.

There would be provisions for crash blackout measures and early camouflaging of vital plants and installations, they added. The states have been asked to update their evacuation plan and its rehearsal, government sources further said.

The security drill advisory to states came amid repeated cross-border firings by Pakistan at Indian posts. For the past 11 consecutive nights, the Pakistan Army has resorted to unprovoked firing along the Line of Control (LoC), which has been strongly responded to by the Indian Army.

It came after Pakistan-backed terrorists opened fire on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, killing 26 people, including a Nepali national. It was the worst attack in the Kashmir Valley since the assault on CRPF personnel in Pulwama in 2019.

Pakistan, fearing Indian retaliation, has ramped up its defence preparedness, strengthened its border outposts and has been conducting missile tests in anticipation of a military strike by New Delhi. Some ministers have claimed that India may strike Pakistan soon, adding that the military would strongly respond to what they say “Indian misadventure”.

India has taken sweeping diplomatic measures as part of its response to the Pahalgam massacre, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, the shutting of its airspace to Pakistani airlines, among others. Islamabad has responded to tit-for-tat measures and paused the Simla Agreement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has held a series of high-level meetings on the Pahalgam attack, has given “full operational freedom” to the armed forces to choose the mode, targets and timings to respond to the carnage, according to government sources.

In a hard-hitting message, the Prime Minister has vowed to track down the terrorists involved in the heinous attack, and their handlers and backers, and “pursue them to the ends of earth”.