India, May 6 -- The Union home ministry has asked all states to conduct mock drills across the 244 categorised civil defence districts on Wednesday, May 7, in view of "new and complex threats" that have emerged in the "current geo-political scenario".

The order came after a series of high-level meetings by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi to discuss India's retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 people on April 22.

The order also came hours after Pakistan conducted its second missile firing test in two days under "Exercise INDUS" amid rising tensions with India. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the successful test launch "made it clear that Pakistan's defence is in strong hands."

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