People in several districts of Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat spent an anxious night as authorities enforced blackouts amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan.
In Punjab, blackouts were enforced in border areas of Amritsar, Pathankot and Ferozepur, as well as in the districts of Jalandhar, Gurdaspur, and Hoshiarpur.
The authorities also snapped power in Chandigarh, the common capital of Punjab and Haryana, for about two hours until midnight.
In Jammu city, sounds of blasts triggered an immediate blackout early Friday morning, hours after India thwarted Pakistan military's attempts to target military installations in border areas.
Activity of loitering munitions was witnessed in the skies.
The blast sounds were heard between 3:50 am and 4:45 am following sounding of sirens.
Security forces neutralised the threat, officials said.
A total blackout for more than 7 hours was also enforced in several parts of the border districts of Kutch and Banaskantha in Gujarat on Thursday night.
India on Thursday night swiftly thwarted Pakistan's fresh attempts to strike military sites with drones and missiles, including in Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur, after foiling its attempts to target military installations in 15 cities in the northern and western parts of the country using missiles and drones.
According to the defence ministry, the Pakistani military on Thursday night attempted to target Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bathinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai and Bhuj.
The renewed attempts by the Pakistani forces came after the Indian armed forces on Wednesday carried out precise missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan under 'Operation Sindoor' in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
In Pathankot, where some locals claimed they heard explosion-like sounds on Thursday night, though there was no official confirmation, calm prevailed on Friday morning.
Air raid warning sirens were activated in the border town where the blackout was enforced around 8:30 pm on Thursday.
Some locals said on Friday that though they were anxious over the developments, they were confident as India's armed forces were swiftly thwarting Pakistan's attempts.
In the key border districts of Amritsar and Ferozepur, too, calm prevailed on Friday morning.
In Chandigarh, Baldev Chand, an elderly man who stuck to his routine morning walk on Friday, said while there were some anxious moments the previous night, there was nothing to worry given the way the Indian armed forces thwarted Pakistan's attempts.
On Thursday night, the authorities in several Punjab districts appealed to people to switch off the lights and stay at home, insisting that there was no need to panic.
Pathankot Deputy Commissioner Aditya Uppal asked citizens to remain inside their homes and follow the blackout protocols.
The blackout was also enforced in Rupnagar, Fazilka, Kapurthala, Ludhiana, Sangrur, Bathinda, Patiala and Haryana's Panchkula, as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of the citizens.
The Punjab government has ordered the closure of all educational institutions for the next three days in view of the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.
In Chandigarh, too, the authorities have shut all schools till Saturday.
Videos from Jammu city also showed flying objects in the skies and blasts taking place as the threats were neutralised.
Overnight ceasefire violations were also reported as Pakistani troops resorted to firing and shelling in Poonch, Rajouri and Jammu districts and Indian troops retaliated.
In a post on X, the Jammu deputy commissioner urged residents to stay calm.
All schools, colleges and universities have been closed in the region in the wake of the heightened tensions between India and Pakistan.
In Gujarat, officials confirmed that several parts of Kutch, including Bhuj, Nalia, Nakhatrana and Gandhidham towns, were put under total blackout as a precautionary measure to deter any offensive gesture by Pakistan.
The lights went out around 10 pm on Thursday, and power was back after 5.30 am on Friday, they said.
Similarly, blackouts were declared in Suigam and 20 villages in its vicinity in the Banaskantha district, they said.
In the neighbouring Patan district, the authorities enforced a blackout in 8-10 villages in Santalpur taluka, said officials.
Earlier on Thursday, wreckage of a 'drone-like' object was found at a remote place near Khavda village of Gujarat's Kutch district, close to India's border with Pakistan.
However, there was no clarity about the origin of the drone and whether it was shot down or got damaged and fell down after hitting the power line during the early hours of Thursday.
The place where the wreckage was found is nearly 20 km away from the Indo-Pak border.
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