All of India is in wait and watch mode.

This after the Indian Army and Indian Air Force in the early hours of Wednesday carried out strikes on several terrorist bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in ‘Operation Sindoor’.

At least 13 people have already been killed in cross-border shelling from Pakistan.

Though India has already warned that any military response from Pakistan would result in retaliation, Pakistan has already attempted to hit targets inside India.

Let’s take a closer look at how India is prepared to fend-off Pakistan’s attacks:

Negated Pak’s attempt at escalation

India on Thursday said it had negated Pakistan’s attempts at escalation.

This came after Islamabad “attempted to engage a number of military targets in Northern and Western India”, India said as per Indian Express. 

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“On the night of May 7-8, 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 read.

India responded by neutralised an “air defence system" at Lahore.

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“Today morning 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 same intensity as Pakistan. It has been reliably learnt that an Air Defence system at Lahore has been neutralised,” it said.

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The newspaper reported that India used Israel’s Harops — an unmanned combat aerial vehicle — to hit Pakistani military targets.

These Harops can loiter in the air close to the designated target and attack it bycrashing into it.

Sources told news agency ANI that India used Harpy drones to destroy Pak air defences.,

India also used the Russian-made S-400 defence system to shoot down missiles aimed at its cities.

India had called its Wednesday actions “focused, measured, and non-escalatory”.

Border states preparing as tensions escalate

As per NDTV, Rajasthan and Punjab — both of which border Pakistan — are on high alert.

The leaves of all police have been cancelled and public gatherings have been limited.

The Rajasthan border has been completely shuttered.

Border Security Force personnel have been issued shoot-on-sight orders.

Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer saw a complete blackout from 12 am to 4 pm.

Police patrolled inner-city areas and made sure locals returned to their homes.

Personnel also conducted awareness campaigns and ensured that the lights were turned off in homes.

Several border villages are also ready to be evacuated.

Anti-drone systems have been operationalised.

Government and private schools in Barmer, Bikaner, Sri Ganganagar, and Jaisalmer have been shuttered and examinations deferred.

Business Standard quoted Barmer District Collector Tina Dabi as saying, “In view of the national security and emergency situation in Barmer district, …. holiday is declared for all the government and non-government (private) schools / educational institutions / CBSE schools / Anganwadis / Madrasas up to class 12th in Barmer district from May 8, 2025 till further orders and the home /common examination to be held from May 8, 2025 is also postponed till further orders.”

Jodhpur District Collector Gaurav Agarwal said, “In view of the current situation, a holiday is being declared in all private and government schools and Anganwadis from today till further orders.”

A large scale mock drill was carried out on Wednesday evening in Punjab’s Amritsar.

Several parts of the city also underwent blackouts as part of a drill.

All of Punjab’s border districts have been put on high alert with all public events cancelled, Punjab Cabinet Minister Aman Arora said on Wednesday.

“Punjab shares a 532-kilometre border with Pakistan . Therefore, during any military tension, the role of the Punjab government becomes extremely crucial. All districts near the border have been placed on high alert, and for public safety, the government has cancelled all types of public events,” Arora said.

Arora said Punjab Police as the second line of defence is also fully prepared.

“Punjab Police is providing full support to the Indian Army and working together on future preparations,” he said.

Arora also appealed to the people of Punjab to strictly adhere to all government orders to ensure public safety.

As per Business Standard, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is on high alert, with Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jets patrolling the skies from Ganganagar to the Rann of Kutch.

Control rooms set up across Valley

Control rooms have been set up across 10 districts in Kashmir.

“In view of the prevailing situation, a Joint Control Room is established at the District Emergency Operation Centre (DEOC), Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar under the overall supervision of the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Srinagar,” the local district magistrate said in an order, as per India TV.

The district magistrate said at the control room will coordinate efforts between several departments, track developments and share information.

“In view of the prevailing situation, a Joint Control Room is established at the District Emergency Operation Centre (DEOC), Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar under the overall supervision of the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Srinagar,” the local district magistrate said in an order.

It shall also act as a grievance redressal platform for the general public, enabling efficient resolution of issues arising in real time," the order said.

Airports shut, flights cancelled

As per NDTV, over two dozen airports across India have been closed till Saturday.

These include Srinagar, Leh, Jammu, Pathankot, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Patiala, Bathinda, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Rajkot, Porbandar, Gwalior, Shimla, Dharamshala and Jamnagar.
Amritsar Airport has been shut down until further notice.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP-2) Sirivennela, told ANI that 21 North and North-Western India airports will shut until May 10, and no flights will be operated.

“We received information that all flights need to be cancelled and the airport has to be shut down. The whole airport is shut until further notice. As per the central government, 21 airports in North and North-western India will remain shut till May 10. No flights will be operated from here,” the police official told ANI.

Reuters quoted the Airports Authority of India as saying that Srinagar airfield has been shut and that there will be no commercial flights operating from the region for the day.

IndiGo said over 165 flights from multiple domestic airports have been cancelled till May 10 due to restrictions on airspace.

HAL on high alert

Meanwhile, staff at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) – who maintain India’s fighter planes – have been put on high alert, as per The Times of India.

“Our staff critical for maintenance have been told to be prepared for any requirement and some have been asked to volunteer in case there’s a requirement for travel. We’ve already started an additional shift between 7 pm and 11 pm and if needed, we are prepared to work round the clock,” a HAL source told the newspaper.

A retired HAL employee earlier told the newspaper that staff “worked continuously for over two months” during the Kargil war in 1999.

With inputs from agencies