India
oi-Amit Vasudev
Jammu
city
was
plunged
into
darkness
on
Friday
evening
amid
the
sounds
of
explosions
and
blaring
sirens,
as
tensions
between
India
and
Pakistan
intensified.
The
blasts
occurred
following
continued
shelling
by
Pakistan,
which
came
in
the
wake
of
India’s
targeted
air
strikes
on
nine
terrorist
camps
earlier
this
week
under
Operation
Sindoor.
Photo
Credit:
@OmarAbdullah
on
X
this
image
posted
by
@OmarAbdullah
via
X
on
May
9,
2025,
view
of
a
blackout,
in
light
of
the
ongoing
military
conflict
between
India
and
Pakistan,
in
Jammu.
“Intermittent
explosions,
likely
from
heavy
artillery,
are
still
echoing
where
I
am,” shared
Jammu
and
Kashmir
Chief
Minister
Omar
Abdullah
in
a
post
on
X.
He
also
uploaded
an
image
showing
the
city
blacked
out,
captioned:
“Blackout
in
Jammu
now.
Sirens
can
be
heard
across
the
city.”
Abdullah
urged
residents
in
and
around
Jammu
to
stay
indoors
and
avoid
the
streets
for
the
next
few
hours.
He
called
on
people
to
disregard
rumours
and
unverified
claims,
urging
unity
in
facing
the
situation.
“It’s
my
earnest
appeal
to
everyone
in
and
around
Jammu:
please
stay
off
the
streets,
stay
home
or
at
the
nearest
safe
location
for
the
next
few
hours.
Ignore
rumours,
don’t
spread
unverified
stories
–
we
will
get
through
this
together,” he
posted
on
X.
Meanwhile,
Pakistani
drones
were
spotted
over
Jammu,
Samba,
and
the
Pathankot
sector,
and
were
swiftly
engaged
by
Indian
forces.
The
escalation
peaked
on
Thursday
evening,
when
Pakistan
launched
a
drone
and
missile
assault
targeting
several
locations
in
Jammu,
Punjab,
and
Rajasthan.
The
strike
was
successfully
intercepted
by
Indian
air
defence
systems.
The
attack
led
to
blackouts
and
triggered
air
raid
sirens
across
multiple
cities,
even
causing
the
suspension
of
the
ongoing
IPL
match
in
Dharamshala,
Himachal
Pradesh.
India
responded
by
deploying
Barak-8
missiles,
S-400
Triumph
systems,
Akash
surface-to-air
missiles,
and
domestically
developed
anti-drone
technologies
to
repel
the
offensive.
Pakistan’s
military
reportedly
aimed
to
strike
Awantipura,
Srinagar,
Jammu,
Pathankot,
Amritsar,
Kapurthala,
Jalandhar,
Ludhiana,
Adampur,
Bhatinda,
Chandigarh,
Nal,
Phalodi,
Uttarlai,
and
Bhuj
using
a
combination
of
drones
and
missiles.
