Punjab schools, colleges closed for three days amid border tensions

The Punjab government on Thursday ordered the closure of educational institutions for three days amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.

Punjab shares a 532-km border with Pakistan.

Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said that all schools, colleges and universities – government, private and aided – across the state will remain closed for three days “in view of the evolving situation”.

Authorities in the Union Territory of Chandigarh also declared the closure of schools till Saturday, PTI reported.

The Chandigarh administration said on Friday morning that it had received a warning from the air force station about a possible Pakistani attack.

Sirens are being sounded in the Union Territory and residents were advised to remain indoors and away from balconies, the administration said.

In Haryana, educational institutions in Panchkula will remain closed till Saturday, the news agency quoted unidentified officials as saying.

The Indian Army said that the Pakistani military had launched several attacks using drones and other munitions along India’s entire western border on Thursday night. Pakistani soldiers also violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, it added in a statement on Friday morning.

The drone attacks were “effectively repulsed” and a “befitting reply” was given to the ceasefire violations, the Indian Army said.

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