In the wake of escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, the Union Home Ministry has issued directives to states to conduct mock drills on May 7 for effective civil defence.

According to news agency ANI, the following measures will be taken:

• Operationalisation of Air Raid Warning Sirens.
• Training of civilians, students, etc, on the civil defence aspects to protect themselves in the event of a hostile attack.
• Provision of crash blackout measures.
• Provision for early camouflaging of vital plants/installations 5. Updation of the evacuation plan & its rehearsal.

The directives come after Pakistan’s ambassador to India warned to go “full spectrum of force”, including nuclear, if it is attacked or its vital water flow is disrupted.

Muhammad Khalid Jamali made the comments during an interview with Russia’s state-run TASS news agency on Sunday.

Warning that Pakistan was prepared to respond to any aggression, the ambassador said, “We in Pakistan will use the full spectrum of force, both conventional and nuclear.”

Ties between India and Pakistan plummeted following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists.