Borders sealed, missiles ready: Rajasthan, Punjab put on high alert after ‘Operation Sindoor’

A day after India’s missile strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, the border states of Rajasthan and Punjab have been put on high alert. Leaves of all police personnel have been cancelled and public gatherings restricted as local authorities gear up for any retaliation from the Pakistan side, Indian broadcaster NDTV reported on Thursday.

The border of Rajasthan, which shares a 1,037km stretch with Pakistan, has been completely sealed and Border Security Force personnel have been given shoot-on-sight orders if they spot any suspicious activity.

The authorities of the northern Indian state have also restricted movement near the border for those who do not live there.

The Indian Air Force has also been put on high alert, the NDTV said.

Flight movement from Jodhpur, Kishangarh and Bikaner airports has been suspended until May 9 as fighter jets patrol the skies in the western sector. Missile defence systems have also been activated.

Sukhoi-30 MKI jets are conducting air patrols from Ganganagar to the Rann of Kutch. Schools in the Bikaner, Sri Ganganagar, Jaisalmer, and Barmer districts have been shut and ongoing exams have been postponed. Leaves of police and railways staff have been cancelled.

Border villages are on high alert and evacuation plans are in place for emergency response. Anti-drone systems near the border have also been activated.

For Jaisalmer and Jodhpur, orders for blackouts from midnight to 4am have been issued, according to the report.

The blackouts create problems for advanced high-speed aircraft, making it difficult for enemy pilots to strike.

In Punjab, the leaves of all police personnel have been cancelled and public gatherings have been restricted, NDTV said.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has also cancelled all government programmes because of the tension on the border.

India fired missiles into several locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as part of the country’s strike, codenamed “Operation Sindoor”, killing at least 26 people, including a child, according to Pakistani officials.

Retaliatory Pakistani shelling killed at least 10 people in Indian-administered Kashmir, Al Jazeera quoted Indian officials as saying.

India has stressed that it did not attack any military installations in Pakistan and that its offensive was only aimed at destroying terror training centres used to plan attacks on Indian soil.

The Resistance Front, which has claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack, is believed to be a front for the banned Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba. Operation Sindoor specifically targeted premises used by Lashkar and Jaish-e-Mohammed for terror training, the Indian government says.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said India’s actions were measured, non-escalatory, proportionate, and responsible. “They focused on dismantling the terrorist infrastructure and disabling terrorists likely to be sent across to India,” he said.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, however, termed the Indian missile strikes an “act of war” and said his country has every right to give a “befitting reply”.