No need to panic: Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann on India-Pakistan conflict

Chandigarh: Amid a military flare-up between India and Pakistan in the wake of Operation Sindoor, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday said there was no need to panic and urged people not to give credence to rumours.

Ministers will be deputed in border districts to ensure that no one indulges in black marketing or hoarding of essential items, he added.

"There is no need to panic. Do not give credence to any rumour," Mann said after chairing a Cabinet meeting.

"There is no shortage of oil in Punjab. There is no need to queue up at petrol pumps," he added.

Many people in Amritsar, Pathankot and other cities in Punjab were purchasing essential items such as pulses, cooking oil, wheat flour, sugar and salt in bulk.

Punjab is on an alert, with the state government on Friday cancelling leaves of all civil servants in view of the ongoing military conflict between the countries. The Punjab Police has already cancelled leaves.

A blackout was enforced in many cities, including Pathankot, Mohali, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Hoshiarpur, on Thursday evening.

Tensions escalated after the Indian Armed Forces carried out missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in retaliation for the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam.

Mann further said an anti-drone system would be deployed in Punjab's border areas.

The Punjab government had earlier announced that it would deploy an anti-drone system to check the smuggling of narcotics and weapons from Pakistan via unmanned aerial vehicles.