Amid the heightened tensions between India and Pakistan on 26 Apr, on behest of Border Security Force, Gurdwaras (Sikh place of learning and worship) asked farmers to wind up operations in the 21,600 acres farm lands between the Indian wired fence and the 553 km international border. For people along the border, these announcements are an indication of action on the border. On 2 May, Ferozepur Cantonment in Panjab carried out a drill from 9-9:30 PM to test wartime readiness. Though Ferozepur Deputy Commissioner Deepshikha Sharma told citizens not to panic, the drill has created anxiety in six Panjab districts. Meanwhile, Pakistan has kept the Wagah gate closed since 1 May, refusing entry to its citizens after India’s post‑Pahalgam visa crackdown, leaving many stranded. Sikh groups from Panjab organized langars (community kitchen) near the Attari side. An eighty‑year‑old paralysed over‑stayer, Abdul Waheed Bhat, died of illness on a bus at Attari before handover to Pakistan. Among those stranded and affected elsewhere are Lahore‑born Saeeda Sagir Fatima, resident of Srinagar for more than forty years. The shut gate halted her forced exit and Saeeda asked in tears, ‘May our final breath be on Indian soil.’ Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) police clarified that Shameema Akhtar, mother of Shaurya Chakrarecipient Constable Mudasir Shaikh, was not on the deportation list. In Uttar Pradesh the status of three‑month‑pregnant Maryam of Bulandshahr and Seema Haider, who entered India via Nepal, remains pending as authorities finalize guidance for about 1K Pakistani spouses on long term visas. Amid this, intelligence warned of sleeper cells hoping to carry out retaliatory killings, prompting J&K to close 48 of 87 tourist sites. Sikh pilgrim turnout through the Kartarpur Corridor to Darbar Sahib, Pakistan—the final resting place of Guru Nanak—has fallen from a daily 425 to 152 on 30 Apr. While the union government has not addressed the citizens of India on the possibility of war, on 5 May, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs announced countrywide mock drills on 7 May to test war preparedness (earlier coverage).
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