Centre Orders First Nationwide Security Drills Since 1971 Amid India-Pakistan Tensions — What It Means For National Preparedness

In the wake of rising tensions between India and Pakistan after the April 22 terror strike in Pahalgam, the Centre has requested a number of states to carry full-scale civil defence mock drills on Wednesday, May 7. This is the primary time since 1971 — the 12 months of Indo-Pak warfare — that such national preparedness workout routines are being held. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) gave directions for engaging in those drills to extend public readiness in case of a opposed assault. The proposed steps are as follows:

1. Operationalisation of air raid caution sirens
2. Civil defence coaching for civilians and scholars
3. Activation of crash blackout drills
4. Pre-mature camouflaging of delicate infrastructure
5. Rehearsal and updating evacuation plans

The motion follows daily cross-border ceasefire breaches via Pakistan, now getting into the 11th instantly night time. Ever because the Pahalgam bloodbath, wherein 26 civilians had been killed via Pakistan-sponsored terrorists, India has delivered a number of stern replies each militarily and diplomatically.

MHA has requested a number of states to behavior mock drills for efficient civil defence on seventh May. The measures to be taken all through the drill come with operationalisation of Air Raid Warning Sirens, Training of civilians, scholars, and so on, at the civil defence sides to give protection to themselves in… pic.twitter.com/TDNd4KzPwB
— ANI (@ANI) May 5, 2025

In Ferozepur, Punjab, a blackout workout was once held remaining night time, with the lighting fixtures being became off within the cantonment area between 9:00 and 9:30 pm. Local officers made positive that safety preparations had been made all through the time of entire darkness.

A letter from the Cantonment Board stated that the target was once to “ensure preparedness and effectiveness in implementing blackout procedures during prevailing war threats.”

PM Modi Holds Key Defence Meetings

Prime Minister Narendra Modi continues to be engaging in top-level defence conferences to evaluate the location. On Monday, he met Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, an afternoon after assembly Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh. The Prime Minister has additionally met with the Army and Navy chiefs previously few days.

PM Modi has pledged “unimaginable punishment” to the folk at the back of the Pahalgam assault, relating to it because the worst terror assault in Jammu and Kashmir after Pulwama in 2019. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh added power to the federal government’s get to the bottom of, announcing, “What you desire will certainly happen.”

Unprecedented Diplomatic Moves

India has already taken numerous diplomatic steps in opposition to Pakistan, together with postponing the Indus Waters Treaty — a step now not taken even all through the 1965 and 1971 wars or the 1999 Kargil War. Indian officers have additionally diminished the choice of Pakistani diplomats in New Delhi.

In reaction, Pakistan has warned that suspension of water go with the flow could be regarded as an act of warfare and threatened that each one bilateral agreements, together with the Simla Agreement on which the prevailing Line of Control (LoC) association is based totally, could be suspended.

If Pakistan pulls out of the Simla Agreement, it is going to destabilize the criminal standing of the LoC and additional exacerbate the prevailing army stress. Pakistan has additionally breached the 2003 ceasefire settlement for 11 consecutive nights, discrediting the efforts to de-escalate hostilities.