Chandigarh: Sirens were sounded in Chandigarh for nearly an hour this morning after an air warning was received from the Air Force station of a “possible attack”, officials said.
“All are advised to remain indoors and away from balconies,” the Chandigarh Administration said in a post on X.
The district administration in neighbouring Panchkula also sounded a siren and appealed to people to stay indoors.
A similar air siren was sounded and a blackout was enforced in Chandigarh last evening after a missile and drone attack by Pakistan in parts of Jammu and Kashmir and shelling in Punjab’s Pathankot.
All private and government schools in Chandigarh have been shut on Friday and Saturday due to an “emergent situation”, Chandigarh Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav said late last night.
Pakistan had launched at least eight missiles at RS Pura, Arnia, Samba and Hiranagar in Jammu and Kashmir last evening. Missiles were also intercepted over Jammu. Blackouts were also enforced in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer, Amritsar in Punjab and Panchkula in Haryana.
The Indian Army this morning said that the Pakistan armed forces launched “multiple attacks” using drones and other munitions along the Western Border on the intervening night of May 8 and May 9.
“Pak troops also resorted to numerous ceasefire violations (CFVs) along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. The drone attacks were effectively repulsed and a befitting reply was given to the CFVs,” it posted on X.
On the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, Pakistan had attempted to strike military targets in 15 locations across India, including Awantipora, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bathinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai and Bhuj.
The defence ministry said the missiles and drones were neutralised by India’s air defence systems, and the debris was being collected as proof of Pakistan’s attack.
In response, the Indian armed forces targeted air defence radars and systems in Pakistan, including Lahore.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have soared after the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam claimed 26 lives last month.
This week, India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ and destroyed multiple terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).