People spend anxious night amid blackout in several Punjab districts

People in several districts of Punjab, including the key border areas of Amritsar, Pathankot and Ferozepur, spent an anxious night as authorities enforced a complete blackout amid heightened tension between .

Blackouts were also enforced in districts such as Jalandhar, Gurdaspur, and Hoshiarpur.

The authorities also snapped power in Chandigarh, the common capital of Punjab and Haryana, for about two hours until midnight.

The move came as India on Thursday night swiftly thwarted Pakistan's fresh attempts to strike military sites with drones and missiles, including in Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur, after foiling its attempts to target military installations in 15 cities in the northern and western parts of the country using missiles and drones.

According to the defence ministry, the Pakistani military on Thursday night attempted to target Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bathinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai and Bhuj.

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The renewed attempts by the Pakistani forces came after the Indian armed forces on Wednesday carried out precise missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan under ‘Operation Sindoor’ in retaliation for the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack.

In Pathankot, where some locals claimed they heard explosion-like sounds on Thursday night, though there was no official confirmation, calm prevailed on Friday morning.

Air raid warning sirens were activated in the border town where the blackout was enforced around 8:30 pm on Thursday, 8 May.

Some locals said on Friday that though they were anxious over the developments, they were confident as India's armed forces were swiftly thwarting Pakistan's attempts.

In the key border districts of Amritsar and Ferozepur, too, calm prevailed on Friday morning.

In Chandigarh, Baldev Chand, an elderly man who stuck to his routine morning walk on Friday, said while there were some anxious moments the previous night, there was nothing to worry given the way the Indian armed forces thwarted Pakistan’s attempts.

On Thursday night, the authorities in several Punjab districts appealed to people to switch off the lights and stay at home, insisting that there was no need to panic.

Pathankot deputy commissioner Aditya Uppal asked citizens to remain inside their homes and follow the blackout protocols.

The blackout was also enforced in Rupnagar, Fazilka, Kapurthala, Ludhiana, Sangrur, Bathinda, Patiala and Haryana's Panchkula, as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of the citizens.

The Punjab government has ordered the closure of all educational institutions for the next three days in view of the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. In Chandigarh, too, the authorities have shut all schools till Saturday.