CHANDIGARH/JAIPUR, May 8– As military tensions escalate between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor, Punjab and Rajasthan have ramped up security measures along their shared borders, cancelling police leave and closing schools in vulnerable districts.
Punjab, which shares a 532-kilometer international border with Pakistan, has placed its entire police force on alert. “Leave stands cancelled with immediate effect and will only be granted in extraordinary cases,” police sources confirmed.
Officers have been tasked with maintaining law and order, monitoring misinformation and hoarding, assisting the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF), and coordinating closely with the Border Security Force (BSF) to support civilians in affected areas.
In six border districts—Ferozepur, Pathankot, Fazilka, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, and Tarn Taran—schools have been ordered shut until further notice, a senior official said on Thursday.
Rajasthan, which shares a longer 1,070-kilometer border with Pakistan, has mirrored these precautionary measures. Leaves for all administrative and police personnel posted in border areas have been revoked, the Director General of Police’s office confirmed.
“Leave may be granted only in special cases and with the competent authority’s approval,” the official directive stated.
Schools—both government and private—in the border districts of Sri Ganganagar, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, and Barmer have also been closed as a precaution. District administrations have initiated emergency preparedness protocols, officials said.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma has instructed police to remain on standby amid the rising tensions. “Given the situation following Operation Sindoor, we are taking all necessary precautions,” he said.
Chief Secretary Sudhansh Pant and DGP U.R. Sahoo led a high-level review meeting with divisional commissioners, collectors, and senior police officials, instructing them to remain stationed at their respective headquarters and tighten state-wide security.
Both state governments are bracing for any fallout from the cross-border escalation, placing civil and law enforcement agencies on coordinated emergency footing.
