Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, testing of air raid sirens was conducted at New Delhi's ITO by the Directorate of Civil Defence on Friday (May 9).  Delhi PWD Minister Parvesh Verma is also present at the spot. It was carried out for a period of 15-20 minutes.  The sirens were heard around a radius of 4 km, a police officer said. As per reports, the Delhi government is planning to install 40 more air raid sirens in Delhi-NCR. 

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The city police emphasised that Friday’s operation was only a trial. For example, a mock drill was conducted for school students and locals on Wednesday as per the Centre’s orders to prepare people in case of any emergency.

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In a statement before the drill, the Delhi government asked people not to panic when the testing of air raid sirens installed at the Public Works Department Headquarters at ITO would be done.

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Operation Sindoor 

The Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 at 1.05am to 1.30 am. Briefing the country on Operation Sindoor, women officers Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri informed that India exercised its right to respond and hit nine terror targets, including terror camps and launchpads, in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). They said that India's actions were measured and non-escalatory, proportionate and responsible.

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The Indian Defence Ministry in a press release said on May 8 that India is committed to non-escalation but won't shy away from providing a suitable response to Pakistan. As per the press release, on the night of 07-08 May 2025, "Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets in northern and western India." Using drones and missiles, Pakistani forces targeted several civilian areas in the region, including the cities of Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj and India responded.

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Pahalgam terror attack

A terror attack on April 22 in Baisaran Valley of Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam district killed 26 tourists. An offshoot of the banned Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) - The Resistance Front (TRF) - claimed responsibility for the attack.

After the attack, India launched a series of actions against Pakistan. The Indian government put into abeyance the Indus Waters Treaty, expelled its diplomats, called back Indian officials from Islamabad, and closed the Attari border, its airspace for Pakistani flights and ships, parcels and imports from Pakistan. New Delhi has also blocked the Instagram accounts of several Pakistani cricketers and celebrities.

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