Borders Sealed, Missiles Ready: Rajasthan, Punjab Alert After Op Sindoor
A day after India's precision missile strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack, border states Rajasthan and Punjab are in alert mode. Leaves of all police personnel have been cancelled and public gatherings restricted as local authorities gear up for any escalation from the Pakistan side.
Rajasthan, which shares a 1,037-km border with Pakistan, is on high alert. The border has been completely sealed and Border Security Force personnel have been given shoot-on-sight orders if they spot any suspicious activity.
The Indian Air Force is on high alert. Flight movement from Jodhpur, Kishangarh and Bikaner airports has been suspended till May 9 as fighter jets patrol the skies in the western sector. Missile defence systems are activated, it is learnt.
Sukhoi-30 MKI jets are conducting air patrols from Ganganagar to the Rann of Kutch. Schools in Bikaner, Sri Ganganagar, Jaisalmer, and Barmer districts have been shut and ongoing exams have been postponed. Leaves of cops and Railways staff have been cancelled.
Border villages are on high alert and evacuation plans are in place for emergency response. Anti-drone systems near the border have also been activated. For Jaisalmer and Jodhpur, orders for blackout from midnight to 4 am have been issued. Blackouts create problems for advanced high-speed aircraft, making it difficult for enemy pilots to strike.
In Punjab, the leaves of all police personnel have been cancelled and public gatherings have been restricted. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has also cancelled all government programmes because of the tension on the border.
India yesterday carried out 24 missile strikes to destroy terror infrastructure at nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. The strike, codenamed Operation Sindoor, was a response to the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 innocents were shot dead in cold blood. India has stressed that it did not attack any military installation in Pakistan and that its offensive was only aimed at destroying terror training centres used to plan attacks on Indian soil.
The Resistance Front, which has claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack, is a front for the banned Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba. Operation Sindoor specifically targeted premises used by Lashkar and Jaish-e-Mohammed for terror training.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said India's actions were measured, non-escalatory, proportionate, and responsible. "They focused on dismantling the terrorist infrastructure and disabling terrorists likely to be sent across to India," he said.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, however, termed the Indian missile strikes an "act of war" and said his country has every right to give a "befitting reply."
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