Civil defence mock drill in states bordering Pakistan postponed

The civil defence exercise scheduled to be held in the states bordering Pakistan on May 29 has been postponed.

The government decided to conduct a civil defence exercise on Thursday in the states bordering Pakistan – Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir – under “Operation Shield”.

However, statements released by the governments in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir said that the exercise has been postponed due to administrative reasons and that the next date for it will be issued subsequently.

On May 7, hours before Operation Sindoor, the government conducted the first civil defence exercise across the country. At the time, the ministry of home affairs had directed 244 districts to carry out the civil defence exercises, which included blackout exercises, air raid sirens, evacuation protocols, and public awareness sessions aimed at preparing civilians for emergencies resembling wartime situations.

The directorate, which is part of the Ministry of Home Affairs, said that critical gaps in the civil defence preparedness of the country’s vulnerable areas were observed.

Instructions to take necessary actions to suitably address the issues were issued on May 9, according to PTI.

India’s Operation Sindoor

Operation Sindoor was India’s direct military response to the April 22 terror strike at Pahalgam in Kashmir that killed 26 civilians in what was the worst attack on civilians since the 26/11 Mumbai strikes.

India launched the operation in the early hours of May 7, bombing nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The pre-dawn strikes —which killed at least 100 terrorists —sparked a series of attacks and counter attacks across the western border, involving fighter jets, missiles, armed drones, and fierce artillery and rocket duels.

In one such counterattack on the night of May 9-10, the air force struck targets at 13 Pakistani air bases and military installations. After four days of fighting, military hostilities were stopped on May 10 as the two nations reached an understanding.