Amritsar: Amritsar district in Punjab was in pitch darkness for a second consecutive night Friday as the district administration ordered a complete blackout anticipating an aerial assault by Pakistan.
Safety measures were imposed after 8 PM Friday, as they were done the previous night, around an hour after Amritsar Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney appealed to the public to follow guidelines issued by the administration and not to take to rumours.
Around 9 PM, loud sounds were heard from a block of the holy city, not far from a military installation in Amritsar. Simultaneously, Indian air defences engaged a swarm of Pakistani drones. Soon afterwards, there were sounds of blasts, possibly from the interception.
Around the same time, hostile drones were also spotted in other districts including Ferozepur, Pathankot, Tarn Taran, Faridkot, Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur, drawing a similar response from India’s air defence grid.
Amritsar Deputy Commissioner Sawhney informed the public that there is no fixed timing for safety measures such as blackouts to kick in, but these are enforced to ensure public safety based on the input the administration receives.
Early Friday morning, blast sounds were heard from a village in the district. Sounds of explosion were heard early Thursday too, followed by the recovery of remnants of what appear to be projectiles used by Pakistan.
“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,” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement Thursday.
“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,” it added.
This is a developing story
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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