Escalations! Reports suggest Pak opened artillery fire in Pathankot

New Delhi: In fresh escalations between India and Pakistan, the latter opened artillery fire in Punjab’s Pathankot, which is 30 km away from the International Border and serves as an entry point to Jammu region and Himachal Pradesh, NDTV reported.

Also, police sources said a loud sound, likely of shelling, was heard in Jaisalmer on Thursday. A top officer confirmed that a sound was heard in Jaisalmer. Forces are on high alert, and border districts remain under a blackout, PTI reported.

The Phalodi district administration in Rajasthan has announced several measures to meet any emergency amid the possibilities of a cross-border strike at a local airbase. All hospitals have been directed to ensure uninterrupted power and ample provisions of water and fuel. Shops and hotels have been ordered to shut by 10 pm. District Collector Harji Lal Atal has urged the general public to support the government orders. Leaves of all government employees have been cancelled, and they have been called back to duty.

Meanwhile, sources told NDTV that the Indian military’s surface-to-air missile defence system shot down a Pakistan Air Force’s F-16 supersonic fighter jet.

Pakistani drones and missiles were also intercepted over the Jammu region, it is learned. There is a blackout enforced in several districts, including Pathankot, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Mohali in Punjab and the Union Territory of Chandigarh on Thursday evening, while district authorities assured that there is no need for panic. People here are advised to keep their lights switched off and stay at home.

Tensions escalated after Indian armed forces early Wednesday carried out missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (Pok), including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base in Muridke, in retaliation for the terror attack in Pahalgam.