With tensions escalating between India and Pakistan following last month’s horrific terror attack in Pahalgam, the Indian government is stepping up its preparedness. According to reports, the Union Home Ministry has directed all states to carry out rigorous civil defence drills on May 7 (Wednesday) to brace for any possible hostile aggression.
At least 244 civil districts across the country will participate in the exercise. These mock drills will include air raid warning sirens, training for civilians and students in protective measures during an attack, and rehearsals for immediate crash blackouts and camouflaging of strategic plants and installations. States have also been ordered to revise and test their evacuation plans.
Senior officials from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Railway Board, and Air Defence units are involved in the operation.
The urgency behind these measures stems from the relentless cross-border provocations by Pakistan. The Pakistan Army has engaged in unprovoked firing along the Line of Control (LoC). The Indian Army has responded forcefully, matching every aggression with measured retaliation.
This spike in hostilities follows the terror assault in Pahalgam, where Pakistan-backed militants opened fire on a group of tourists in Jammu and Kashmir, killing 26 people, including a Nepali national. It marked the deadliest terror strike in the Valley since the 2019 Pulwama attack on CRPF personnel.
In response, India has launched a sweeping diplomatic and strategic counteroffensive. Measures include suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, closing Indian airspace to Pakistani airlines, and other assertive moves. Pakistan, rattled by the possibility of Indian military retaliation, has fortified its border posts, ramped up defence preparedness, and conducted missile tests. Some Pakistani ministers have gone so far as to warn of a strong military reply to what they call “Indian misadventure”.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has held a series of high-level security meetings and, according to media outlets, has given the armed forces full operational freedom to decide how, when, and where to strike in response to the Pahalgam carnage.
Earlier, PM Modi vowed that the perpetrators of the attack—and their enablers—will not escape justice and that India would pursue them to the ends of the earth.
