Indo-Pak
India activates 14 infantry battalions of Territorial Army amid escalation with Pakistan
New Delhi/IBNS: The Defence Ministry on Friday activated 14 of 32 infantry battalions of the Territorial Army, which is India's auxiliary military force, for deployment across the country till 2028, media reports said.
The Territorial Army is being called out for 'heightened readiness and strategic reinforcement', NDTV reported, quoting sources.
The order from the ministry's Department of Military Affairs comes amid escalating military tension between India and Pakistan over the Pahalgam terror attack.
Man-for-man, India has a distinct advantage over the Pakistani army.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, India has around 14.75 lakh active military personnel and over 16 lakh in the paramilitary forces.
Pakistan has less than seven lakh military personnel on active deployment and a paramilitary force of 2.9 lakh.
India also has more fixed-wing aircraft, including fighter jets, as well as more helicopters, armoured fighting vehicles, and pieces of artillery, the SIPRI report said.
This comes as India thwarted 300 to 400 drones launched by Pakistan towards 36 urban centres during the May 8 attack, and is continuing to respond to more such drone attacks on Friday amid escalated tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Two weeks after the Pahalgam attack took place, India launched Operation Sindoor, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The Indian Army, in a statement, said: "On the night of 07-08 May 2025, Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets in Northern and Western India including Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj, using drones and missiles."
"These were neutralised by the Integrated Counter UAS Grid and Air Defence systems. The debris of these attacks is now being recovered from a number of locations that prove the Pakistani attacks," the statement said.
The Indian Ministry of Defence said the Indian Armed Forces targeted Air Defence Radars and systems at several locations in Pakistan.
"Indian response has been in the same domain with the same intensity as Pakistan. It has been reliably learnt that an Air Defence system at Lahore has been neutralised," the statement said.
The Indian Armed Forces also foiled a major infiltration bid at the international border in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district and killed at least seven terrorists on Friday.
The infiltration bid was foiled on the intervening night of May 8 and 9.
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