Till just a couple of hours before the US mediated ceasefire between India and Pakistan came into effect Saturday, Pathankot witnessed a series of intense drone attacks.
Despite Pakistan unleashing swarms of drones in waves through almost the entire intervening night of May 9-10, and a tremendous explosion at dawn, the garrison town was as peaceful as it could be as the morning progressed. An then all hell broke loose.
By 9 am, the air raid sirens went off again and a series of blasts were heard as anti-aircraft firing started from the Air Force Station to neutralise the incoming drones. Within one hour, the district administration realised the severity of the attack. It shut down the commercial establishments and asked the residents to vacate roads and stay indoors.
The situation worsened as the day progressed with there being no let up in the wave after wave of drones coming in and being successfully neutralised by the anti-aircraft batteries.
The attack also included Pakistani projectiles, three of which exploded with great noise in quick succession on the outskirts of the city. The projectiles likely missed their intended target, and instead impacted a vacant hillock, which falls in Himachal Pradesh.
The projectiles caused damage to the houses nearby due to the shock waves emanating from their detonation with many residents of a nearby village, Damtal in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district, complaining that their fans fell off the ceilings and that injuries were sustained by some people as a result. Himachal Pradesh Police reached the spot and cordoned off the area till the Army teams arrived and took over the point of impact. A short while later the Pathankot administration asked all hotels to shut down and guests were asked to vacate their rooms due to the increased momentum of drone attacks.
On several occasions smoke could be seem rising from those areas where the drones managed to evade the anti-aircraft fire and electronic jamming systems. The traffic on the highway passing through Pathankot reduced to a minimum due to the constant explosions taking place around the city.
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The announcement of ceasefire later in the evening again changed the atmosphere of the city within minutes. Streets which were deserted were full of traffic and shops re-opened in quick succession.
Later in the night, Punjab reimposed blackout in Pathankot and some other districts as a precautionary measure, barely two hours after withdrawing the restrictive orders following the ceasefire call.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
