Residents of the Khasa area here claimed to have seen several drones being neutralised mid-air by the air defence system on Friday morning. The area is located around 16 km away from the International Border. Local residents said they heard…

Residents of the Khasa area here claimed to have seen several drones being neutralised mid-air by the air defence system on Friday morning.

The area is located around 16 km away from the International Border. Local residents said they heard explosions around 5 am. Rajinder Singh of Khasa said, “They saw red streaks in the sky that burst in the air with explosions.”

Soon thereafter, the district administration advised people to stay indoors. Officials, however, remained tight-lipped over the development. Similar, explosions were also heard in the nearby Chheharata area.

Amidst India-Pakistan conflict, the Punjab Police have deployed specialised Ghatak teams, accompanied by 14 additional companies of the force, to enhance surveillance and maintain a robust second line of defence along the border. The initiative spans across seven police districts,…

Amidst India-Pakistan conflict, the Punjab Police have deployed specialised Ghatak teams, accompanied by 14 additional companies of the force, to enhance surveillance and maintain a robust second line of defence along the border.

The initiative spans across seven police districts, including Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Batala, Amritsar Rural, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Fazilka.

Coordinated efforts are being made in collaboration with the Border Security Force (BSF) and Army authorities to ensure effective presence along the border.

The Punjab Police have deployed specialised forces, including SOG Hits, SSG and Ghatak teams. They will have bulletproof vehicles. In conjunction with the BSF, 73 well-equipped nakas have been established at strategic points, enhancing the second line of defence.

Additionally, village defence committees (VDCs), having both youth and experienced members, have been formed throughout the border areas to supplement local security measures.

The Punjab Chief Secretary held a meeting with senior Army officials of the Western Command at Chandimandir. The discussions focused on meeting all requirements of the Army in the region.

Safe movement of Army vehicles and security for cantonments and other establishments are being prioritised, with Punjab Police providing bulletproof vehicles to BSF officers at forward locations.

To enhance rear area security and safeguard Army installations, 14 additional armed companies of the Punjab Police have been deployed in border districts. A state-level control room, along with district-level control rooms, has been established to ensure seamless communication and coordination among all security forces.

Mock drills involving civil-defence workers are being conducted across all districts to prepare for potential security challenges, underscoring the commitment of Punjab Police and other agencies to maintain peace and security in the region.

Food Minister says there’s no shortage of goods, asks citizens to stay calm

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday directed all states and union territories to invoke emergency powers under the Civil Defence Rules, 1968. These powers enable civil defence authorities to make urgent procurements in case of an emergency.

In a related development, the Food and Public Distribution Ministry emphasised that there was no shortage of essential commodities in the country. Sources said the Centre’s measures aimed at allaying public fears regarding shortages while empowering civil defence authorities to ensure the availability of vital services in the event of a hostile attack.

The directives followed reports from various regions, particularly border towns and cities, of people engaging in panic buying of essential food items and fuel, leading to long queues at petrol stations.

In a communication to all chief secretaries, Vivek Srivastava, Director General of Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards, said preparedness against hostile attacks came under the Civil Defence Act and Rules, 1968. He cited Section 11 of the rules that empowered states to take necessary measures to protect people and property as well as maintain essential services during an attack.

The communique said the states and UTs could invoke Section 11 to grant emergency procurement powers to their respective Civil Defence Directors for swift implementation of precautionary measures. In a communication to the chief secretaries of all states and Union territories, Director General of Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards Vivek Srivastava said preparing the civil administration and adopting precautionary measures against hostile attacks in the states and Union territories are governed by the Civil Defence Act and Rules, 1968.

This comes as India remains on high alert along its western borders following Pakistan’s attempted retaliation to India’s Operation Sindoor. The Civil Defence Rules, 1968, framed under the Civil Defence Act, were designed to prepare India’s civilian population and infrastructure for hostile attacks. The rules grant sweeping powers to the Centre and state governments to take preventive, protective and control measures before, during, and after such events.

Meanwhile, Union Food and Public Distribution Minister Pralhad Joshi assured in a social media post that there are adequate supplies of essential commodities like edible oils, pulses, and sugar. He warned against propaganda about food shortages, stating, “Don’t believe in propaganda messages regarding food stocks in the country. We have ample food stocks, far exceeding required norms. Don’t pay heed to such messages.” He also cautioned traders against hoarding, warning of legal action under the Essential Commodities Act.

The current rice stock stands at 356.42 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) against a buffer norm of 135 LMT. Similarly, wheat stock is at 383.32 LMT against a buffer norm of 276 LMT. These figures indicate that there is a strong surplus over the required buffer norms, ensuring nationwide food security.

The Border Security Force killed at least seven terrorists after foiling a major infiltration attempt along the International Border in the Samba sector of Jammu. “On the intervening night of May 8-9, an infiltration attempt by a large group of…

Arjun Sharma Vijay Mohan

The Border Security Force killed at least seven terrorists after foiling a major infiltration attempt along the International Border in the Samba sector of Jammu.

“On the intervening night of May 8-9, an infiltration attempt by a large group of terrorists was detected by the surveillance grid in the Samba sector,” a BSF spokesperson said. The total number of terrorists trying to infiltrate was not known.

“The infiltration bid was supported by fire from the Dhandhar post of Pakistan Rangers,” the BSF said. It also released a video showing the terrorists being eliminated in pitch dark. The group was heavily armed and would have been detrimental to the security in the region, it said.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh, an MP from Udhampur in J&K, said in a post on X that the Dhandhar post suffered extensive damage as Indian retaliated.

The attempt to push in terrorists coincided with the drone and missile attacks by the Pakistani side on military and other vital installations in Jammu and other regions.

The Samba sector, south of Jammu, has been witnessing heavy cross-border firing since India announced retribution for the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 persons on April 22 as well as drone incursions over the past days. Several terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir were hit by India under Operation Sindoor.

Located close to the international border, Samba is opposite to Pakistan’s Sialkot sector. Two terrorist camps, Sarjal of Jaish-e-Mohammed and Mehmoona Joya of Hizbul, which were struck during Operation Sindoor, are located in this sector.

The national highway from Pathankot to Jammu and onwards to Srinagar passes through Samba. There have been earlier instances of infiltration as well as ceasefire violation in the area. The riverine terrain of the area makes it vulnerable to infiltration and terrorists involved in some major incidents in Jammu region had reportedly crossed over into India from this sector.

2 civilians killed, five injured in heavy shelling by Pak

Two persons were killed in shelling by Pakistan in the forward areas of J&K, prompting Army troops to retaliate. One person was killed and three others, including his wife, injured in Poonch. A woman was killed and two of her family members injured near the LoC in the Uri sector of north Kashmir.

Col Sofiya Qureshi: who briefed media on ‘Operation Sindoor’

During the briefing, the two women officers — Col Sofiya and Wing Commander Vyomika — flanked the foreign secretary on the dais

Col Sofiya Qureshi, who briefed the media on Wednesday alongside Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh on India’s ‘Operation Sindoor’, is a multi-generation officer in the Army who imbibed the spirit of serving the nation from an early age.

During the briefing, the two women officers — Col Sofiya and Wing Commander Vyomika — flanked the foreign secretary on the dais, who delivered the opening statement from the government, hours after the Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and PoK, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba’s base Muridke.

Qureshi and Singh shared the names and details of the sites targeted from 1 am to 1.30 am on the intervening night of May 6-7.Qureshi, an officer from the Corps of Signals, spoke in Hindi while IAF helicopter pilot Singh shared the details in English, complementing each other.

The military strikes were carried out under ‘Operation Sindoor’ two weeks after the massacre of 26 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

In a panel discussion hosted in 2017, Qureshi shared about her journey into the armed forces, and what inspired her to don the olive-green uniform.

“Being a ‘fauji’ kid, I was exposed to the army environment. My mother wanted either of us two sisters to join the Army. I applied for it and got it. My grandfather was also in the Army, and he used to say ‘it is our responsibility, of every citizen, to be alert and stand up for our country and defend the nation’. It is a dignified and an honourable job,” she had recalled.

She also said that when she “joined the academy, the Kargil war was going on”.

The officer also led an army training contingent at a multinational field training exercise in 2016.

“1st woman officer to lead an Army training contingent at Force18 – #ASEAN Plus multinational field training exercise in 2016. She was the only Woman Officers Contingent Commander among all #ASEAN Plus contingents. #WomensDay #IWD2020 #EachforEqual #SheInspiresUs,” the Ministry of Defence had said in a Woman’s Day post on X, sharing a photograph of Qureshi.

In view of the rising hostilities with Pakistan, the Army Chief has been empowered to muster the Territorial Army, a reserve force, while Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today chaired a high-level meeting with the top brass of the military to…

Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service

In view of the rising hostilities with Pakistan, the Army Chief has been empowered to muster the Territorial Army, a reserve force, while Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today chaired a high-level meeting with the top brass of the military to review the security situation along the western border and the operational preparedness of the armed forces.

The minister’s review meeting comes in the backdrop of the layered Indian air defence mechanism having stalled Pakistan’s barrage of missiles and drones. Last night, Pakistan launched these all across the western front, threatening the Indian military and civilian infrastructure.

The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Anil Chauhan, the Army Chief, Gen Upendra Dwivedi, the Navy Chief, Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, the IAF Chief, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, and the Defence Secretary, Rajesh Kumar Singh, were present at the meeting.

The Defence Ministry, exercising powers under the Territorial Army Rule, 1948, issued a notification saying the Army Chief can “call out every officer and every enrolled person of the Territorial Army to provide for essential guard or to be embodied for the purpose of supporting or supplementing the regular Army”.

Of the existing 32 Infantry Battalions of the Territorial Army, the Army Chief has been empowered to embody 14 Infantry Battalions. These will be deployed in areas of the Southern Command, Eastern Command, Western Command, Central Command, Northern Command, South Western Command, Andaman and Nicobar Command and the Army Training Command.

For the Territorial Army units embodied at the behest of other ministries, the cost will be debited from the respective ministries and will not be included in the budget allocation of the Defence Ministry, the notification stated.

This order shall remain in force for three years with effect till February 2028. The Territorial Army is under the administrative control of the Department of Military Affairs, chaired by the Chief of Defence Staff.

The Territorial Army is like reserve force. People enrolled in it can hold regular jobs outside the force and be called in case of an exigency. The Territorial Army can get officers from the regular Army too.

The Territorial Army is headed by a Lieutenant General rank officer.

Comes as MEA says thwarted Islamabad bid to hit 36 locations through 400 drones

Vijay Mohan Ajay Banerjee

Hours after India announced that Pakistan had launched nearly 400 Turkish drones at 36 locations across northwest India, and fired artillery guns, resulting in the death of “some” soldiers over the past 24 hours, a fresh wave of UAV attacks was reported from several places across the region, including J&K and Punjab, leaving at least three injured.

The Army said drones were sighted at 26 locations — from Baramulla in the North to Bhuj in the West — along the Line of Control as well as the International Border on Friday evening.

The areas targeted included Jammu, Samba, Pathankot, Udhampur, Nagrota, Baramulla, Srinagar, Awantipora, Amritsar, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Jaisalmer, Lalgarh Jattan, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bhuj, Kuar Bet and Lakki Nala. Explosions were also heard in some parts of Kashmir and Pokhran in Rajasthan, a desert region where India had conducted nuclear tests. Drone attacks on the Srinagar airport and south Kashmir’s Awantipora airbase were thwarted, officials said.

The Army said the forces were maintaining a high alert, and all such aerial threats were being tracked and engaged using counter-drone systems.

Along the Line of Control, several ceasefire violations by the Pakistan army were reported. The Army said these threats were being responded to effectively.

Residents in these places reported seeing several drones hovering overhead and in some cases hearing the sound of explosions as well as anti-aircraft guns. Blackouts were enforced in many districts in north-west India as a precautionary measure and air raid warning sirens sounded at several places during the day.

In Amritsar, multiple drones were spotted in the Chheharta area and the road leading to the airport. In Ferozepur, where several drones were sighted, three persons were injured in a blast that hit their house at Khai Pheme Ke, the cause of which is not clear. They were admitted to a local hospital.

Earlier, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, at a briefing in New Delhi on the ongoing Operation Sindoor, said the armed forces responded “proportionately and adequately” to the aggression last night. He slammed Pakistan for “using civilian planes as shields” to fly close to the International Border and assailed it for attacking places of worship and its “preposterous” attempts to put the blame on the armed forces.

Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, speaking at the briefing, said India retaliated by launching armed drones at four air defence (AD) sites in Pakistan and “one of these destroyed an AD radar”.

Pakistan also carried out firing across the Line of Control (LoC) using large-calibre artillery guns and armed drones directed at Tangdhar, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar, Rajouri, Akhnoor and Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in some losses and injuries to Army personnel. The Pakistan army suffered major losses in retaliatory fire,” she said.

The officer said that a possible purpose of the large-scale aerial intrusions drones by Pakistan, using Turkish Songar drones, many of which were shot down, was to test the AD systems, gather intelligence and also to target military infrastructure.

Col Sofiya Qureshi flagged Islamabad’s “irresponsible” behaviour for using civil airlines as shields, knowing fully well that any attack on India would elicit a swift AD response. “This is not safe for the unsuspecting civil airliners, including international flights, which were flying near borders between India and Pakistan,” she said. The IAF demonstrated “considerable restraint” in its response, thus ensuring the safety of international civil carrier, she added.

Justice served, but war no good, reiterate 1971 war veterans

At least 100 terrorists killed: Rajnath at all-party meet

Some newspaper clips

Pakistan attempts hitting Jammu airport, city; 8 missiles intercepted, blackout initiated

Strikes to strategy

When SC praised Col Qureshi in verdict on permanent commission to women officers

Pakistan Army confirms India missile strikes in its territory, scramble jets in response

Night-long bombing, shelling, missile strikes; India repels multiple attacks by Pakistan

rack & attack: How integrated air defence grid shot down Pak missiles

Sensitive period: PM calls for alertness, synergy at security review meet with Secys

Exercising restraint, but all geared up to protect sovereignty: Rajnath

Masood Azhar’s brother eliminated in Bahawalpur strike

Valley border villagers flee to safer places amid artillery shelling by Pak

Role of air power in crossing the Rubicon again

Red alert for Pak on the terror front

On Pakistan radar, IAF base, defence labs put on high alert in UT

BSF suspends Beating Retreat ceremony on Attari-Wagah border

High alert in Punjab’s six border districts, schools shut

After blasts, missile debris sparks panic in Punjab border villages

India foils missile, drone attacks in North; neutralises air defence system in Lahore

India did the right thing by destroying the terrorist camps

Manav Mander Tribune News Service

In the face of heightened tension between India and Pakistan, war veterans of 1971 war from the city have expressed their strong support for the Indian armed forces, but are also of the opinion that nothing comes good from a war as it does not discriminate. It kills good, peace-loving people, and as well as those with bad intentions.

Brig Indermohan Singh (retd) said that India did the right thing by destroying the terrorist camps. “But war is not the solution as going on war means destruction and the economies of both countries do not permit to do that. India might be the world’s fourth largest economy, but that is due to the big business houses and not due to the government’s financial status. If we go to war, Pakistan may get financial help from Arab countries, but to whom will India look for help is what I wonder,” he says.

Further, Brig Indermohan, who had just three months of service under his belt when the war of 1971 broke out, added that war had always been a destructive force that only brings suffering and destruction. “The horrors of war can leave mental scars that may never fully heal, leading to long-term suffering and emotional distress. This trauma can also have a ripple effect, impacting families and communities for years to come,” says he.

Brig SS Gill (retd), a war veteran of 1971 war, says, “Armed forces have done their duty and not let the nation down. At this point there will be no full-fledged war, but Pakistan can retaliate and India is ready for that and will respond accordingly. The nation can sleep peacefully and the armed forces are there to take care of the country,” said Gill. It had been just a year since he joined the Army when India went on war with Pakistan in 1971 and was lucky to escape without injury when a splinter went through his turban.

Meanwhile, Lt Col H S Kahlon (retd), who was decorated with Vir Chakra for his valour in the 1971 war, is saddened with all that is happening in the country. “I am really disheartened with all that is happening presently and I do not want to comment on this,” said Col Kahlon.“It has been 54 years, but the images of war still stay with my father. War can never bring any good to any nation,” says Rinku Kahlon, son of Lt Col Kahlon.

Details of Ludhiana war Veterans

1. Brig Indermohan Singh-– Presently is President of IESL ,Head office in Delhi
2. Brig SS Gill — owner of Basra Restaurant in Ludhiana and President Ludhiana Area of Sanjha Morcha
3. Lt Col H S Kahlon Vrc –was GOG President of Distt Ludhiana