India-Pakistan war: Punjab on high-alert, complete blackout in the Gurdaspur district till…
Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated sharply over the past two weeks, following a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22, 2025. In retaliation, the Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of Wednesday, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK). This military operation came in response to the attack in Pahalgam, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians, including one Nepali national.
The Government of India, along with the Punjab Government, has issued directives under the Civil Defence Act, 1968, mandating a complete blackout in the Gurdaspur district from 9:00 PM to 5:00 AM. According to the news agency ANI report, the measure, effective from May 8, 2025, will remain in place until further notice.
“Due to a sensitive environment on the Indo-Pak border, guidelines of the Government of India and the Government of Punjab. According to this, further orders will be issued from 08.05.2025 to deal with the emergency situation under the Civil Defense Act 1968. From 9.00 pm to 5.00 am the next day, there will be complete “black out” in district Gurdaspur. This order will not be applicable in Central Jail Gurdaspur and hospitals. Though, the windows of Gurdaspur jail and hospitals will be closed every day from 9.00 pm to 5.00 am the next day,” reads the statement.
The measure has been implemented in response to the sensitive situation along the Indo-Pakistan border and is designed to address any potential emergency scenarios that may arise.
Blackout Order Exempts…
- The blackout order exempts Central Jail Gurdaspur and hospitals. However, these institutions must keep their windows closed and securely covered during the specified hours to ensure no light escapes.
After India executed Operation Sindoor, in which nine terror sites deep inside Pakistan were destroyed, Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets on the night of May 7. The military targets were engaged in Northern and Western India, including Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj, using drones and missiles.
These were neutralised by the Integrated Counter UAS Grid and Air Defence systems. The debris of these attacks is now being recovered from a number of locations that prove the Pakistani attacks. Indian Air Force S-400 Sudarshan Chakra air defence missile systems were fired on Wednesday night against targets moving towards India. The targets were successfully neutralised in the operation, multiple domain experts told ANI. An official Government confirmation is awaited. On Thursday morning, the Indian Armed Forces targeted Air Defence Radars and systems at several locations in Pakistan. The Indian response has been in the same domain with the same intensity as Pakistan’s. It has been reliably learnt that an Air Defence system at Lahore has been neutralised.
(With ANI Inputs)
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