Amid rising India–Pakistan tensions, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has instructed chief secretaries and administrators of all states and Union Territories to invoke emergency powers under civil defence rules to enforce precautionary measures effectively, media reports said on Friday.
As per the MHA communique, Section 11 of the Civil Defence Rules, 1968, can be invoked, and necessary Emergency Procurement Powers to the Director Civil Defence of the state and UT may be granted so that efficient implementation of the necessary precautionary measures can be implemented.
Territorial Army
Meanwhile, the Centre has also authorised the Chief of the Army Staff to call out officers and every enrolled person of the Territorial Army to assist or supplement the regular Army in case it is required amid the escalating tensions between warring neighbours India and Pakistan.
According to a notification dated May 6, “In exercise of the powers conferred by Rule-33 of the Territorial Army Rule 1948, the Central government empowers Chief of the Army Staff to exercise the powers under that rule to 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.”
The notification said that of the existing 32 Infantry battalions, embodiment of 14 Infantry battalions of the Territorial Army for deployment in Southern Command, Eastern Command, Western Command, Central Command, Northern Command, South Western Command, Andaman and Nicobar Command and Army Training Command (ARTRAC), the Indian news agency reported.
The order will reportedly remain in force between February 10, 2025, to February 9, 2028.
Pak Drone-Missile Attacks
Two weeks after the attack took place in the popular tourist destination in Jammu and Kashmir, India launched Operation Sindoor, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
India Armed Forces on Thursday neutralised missiles and drones shot by Pakistan, targeting multiple cities in India, which included Amritsar, Jammu, Pathankot, among others.
The Indian Army said in a statement: “On the night of 07-08 May 2025, Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets 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,” the statement said.
The Indian Ministry of Defence said the Indian Armed Forces targeted Air Defence Radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan.
“Indian response has been in the same domain with the same intensity as Pakistan. It has been reliably learnt that an Air Defence system at Lahore has been neutralised,” the statement said.
The Indian Armed Forces foiled a major infiltration bid at the international border in Jammu and Kashmir’s Samba district and killed at least seven terrorists on Friday.
The infiltration bid was foiled on the intervening night of May 8 and 9.
(With inputs from IBNS)
