India, May 9 -- As tensions between India and Pakistan escalate, air raid sirens sounded in parts of the national capital on Friday during a mock drill to assess emergency readiness.

The test was carried out by the civil defence directorate at the multi-storey PWD building in ITO, where an air raid siren has been installed.

The exercise comes a day after India thwarted an attempt by Pakistan to target military installations near the border. Early Friday morning, loud explosions were heard in Jammu city, leading to a complete blackout.

Earlier, officials had urged the public not to panic, stressing that the drill was part of a routine emergency preparedness exercise. The district magistrate (central), G Sudhakar, advised residents to re...