Military drills, PM's briefings and the MHA order: Is India signalling a retaliatory strike against Pakistan?

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In the days following the brutal terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives, tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated sharply. While Pakistan has claimed that India is preparing for a military incursion “very soon,” the signals from New Delhi—though serious—remain carefully ambiguous.

What is emerging is a pattern of intensified military readiness across all branches of India’s armed forces, paired with high-level briefings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Yet, the absence of any confirmed action—or even rhetoric bordering on escalation—suggests that India may still be weighing its options carefully rather than moving ahead with a retaliatory strike.

MHA asks states to conduct mock drill to prepare for any attack

The Union Home Ministry has asked several states to conduct mock drills on May 7 amid rising tensions with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack.

The five measures to be taken during the drill are:

• 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 black out measures.
• Provision for early camouflaging of vital plants/installations.
• Updation of evacuation plan and its rehearsal.

Military activity spikes across India

Navy drills in Arabian Sea: India’s maritime authorities have issued a navigation warning for commercial ships to exercise caution in view of the Indian Navy’s ongoing drills in the Arabian Sea, even as Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi is understood to have briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the overall situation in the critical sea lanes.

The Indian Navy released visuals on X showing its warships, including Kolkata-class destroyers and Nilgiri and Krivak-class frigates, conducting multiple anti-ship firings in the Arabian Sea. The demonstration showcased their readiness for long-range precision strikes, featuring BrahMos anti-ship and anti-surface cruise missiles being launched from the vessels.

The northern Arabian Sea is not just a strategic maritime corridor—it’s also a potential theatre for power projection toward Pakistan's coastal areas, including Karachi. The presence of advanced warships and submarines in the region has not gone unnoticed.

IAF conducts night drill with fighter jets on Ganga Expressway

The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Friday successfully conducted night-time combat drills involving fighter jets on the country's first expressway airstrip on the Ganga Expressway in Shahjahanpur district.

The drill, which took place between 7 pm and 10 pm on Friday, saw fighter jets Rafale, Sukhoi, Jaguar, and Mirage-2000 simulate touch-and-go landings and combat operations on the 3.5-kilometre airstrip near Piru village under the Jalalabad Police Station limits.

Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Arvind Kumar said, "Fighter jets made contact with the airstrip near the VIP camp and then took off again. Over 1,000 sanitation workers and other personnel from the Panchayati Raj Department were deployed along a 40-kilometre stretch to ensure no animals or obstructions entered the airstrip." Locals watched the exercises with enthusiasm from fields nearby, he said.

The location—UP—is significant for its central geography, allowing for quick rerouting of forces either toward the western border or to the north in case of broader conflict scenarios.

Army's blackout drills in Punjab

A 30-minute blackout rehearsal was conducted at the Ferozepur Cantonment area in Punjab on Sunday evening. All lights were turned off in the area after a siren went off at 9 pm.

The drill was reminiscent of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, a time when ordering a blackout to hinder enemy aircraft visibility was a routine measure.

PM Modi meeting top defence chiefs

On May 4, PM Modi met Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh. According to sources, the IAF chief briefed the Prime Minister on the current preparedness of the force and presented a range of military response options available to the government. Singh’s presentation reportedly covered tactical and strategic scenarios, including the use of air power, precision strikes, and contingency planning.

This meeting followed another significant engagement: Navy chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi spoke with PM Modi on the evolving security environment, particularly in the northern Arabian Sea—a region that has seen an uptick in naval activities in recent days.

These two high-level conversations come just five days after Modi chaired a crucial meeting with the top military brass. During that session, the Prime Minister reportedly told the forces that they had “complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets and timing of our response” to the Pahalgam attack. That line—deliberately open-ended—has added fuel to speculation without confirming anything.

Despite these indicators, India has so far refrained from making any official statement about military retaliation. This silence is telling—and perhaps strategic. It keeps Pakistan guessing, avoids international alarm, and maintains flexibility in choosing how and when to act.

New Delhi’s recent moves—including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, banning Pakistani vessels, flights, goods, and postal services—suggest a clear escalation on the economic and diplomatic fronts.